An Aug. 22 Recommitment to Earth ceremony is held for ancestral human remains from the Sloan Museum of Flint, Mich. The ceremony was held at noon at the Nibokaan Ancestral Cemetery on Tomah Road.

An Aug. 22, 2019 Recommitment to Earth ceremony was held for ancestral human remains from the Sloan Museum of Flint, Mich.

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and its Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways, and with assistance from the Michigan Anishinaabek Cultural Preservation & Repatriation Alliance (MACPRA) and Mille
Lacs Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, recommitted to the earth the ancestral human remains of nine Native American individuals and one funerary object from the Sloan Museum.

According to a release from the Ziibiwing Center, "in 1945, human remains representing, at minimum, nine individuals were removed from the Scoto Mounds in Genesee County in Michigan. The human remains were excavated from the mounds by the acting curator of the Genesee County Historical Society and a group of volunteers and were added to the collection of that organization."

The release continues, "In 1966, upon the opening of the Sloan Museum, ownership of the collection of the Genesee County Historical Society was transferred to the Sloan Museum."

Several of the human remains were not able to be identified by age or gender, however, it was determined that there were four children and two adults, of whom two are male and two are possibly female. There were no known individuals identified.

No cultural artifacts aided in determining the date of the human remains.

The one associated funerary object buried was a deer scapula.

The Notice of Inventory Completion posted to the Federal Register on June 28, 2019.

The "Preparing for the Journey" ceremony was held at 10 a.m. before the noon Recommitment to Earth ceremony. The 10 a.m. service was held at the Ziibiwing Center where final preparations and ceremonial protocols for the ancestors were made.

The noon Recommitment to Earth ceremony was held at the Nibokaan Ancestral Cemetery on 7525 E. Tomah Rd. in Mount Pleasant with George Martin and Steve Pego officiating. Sydney Martin, Marcella Hadden and
Roxann Sawade assisted with the water ceremony.

Anishinabe Ogitchedaw Veterans Warriors Society members including David Perez and Tony Perry were also present.

A 1 p.m. Journey Feast, held at the Ziibiwing Center, concluded the ancestral protocols.