The University of Michigan is located on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Wyandot (Wyandotte), Seneca, Delaware, Shawanese (Shawnee), Miami, Sauk and Fox, and others. In 1817, the Bodewadami, Odawa, and Ojibwe Nations made the largest single gift to the early University, when they granted land through Article 16 of the Treaty at the Foot of the Rapids so that their children could be educated. Through these words of acknowledgment, their contemporary and ancestral ties to the land, sovereignty, and their contributions to the University are recognized and reaffirmed. As a Museum, we will work to hold the University of Michigan more accountable in sustaining mutually beneficial partnerships with Indigenous peoples, communities, and nations that recognize and fulfill their rights and aspirations.
In addition to acknowledging those who occupied this land, the Museum is committed to working with our Native American partners, particularly the Michigan Anishinaabek Cultural Preservation and Repatriation Alliance (MACPRA), to return ancestors and associated burial items held in our collections to their descendants. Click the following link to learn more about the Museum’s NAGPRA repatriation efforts. You can find out more about our other Native American partner institutions on the Collaboration page.
