City of Marquette awarded grant to interpret Anishinaabe history and heritage

MARQUETTE — The City of Marquette has been awarded a grant from the Native American Heritage Fund (NAHF). NAHF awarded six Michigan communities totaling awards of more than $482,000. The City received $57,500 to interpret Anishinaabe history and heritage from the mouth of the Carp River to Presque Isle through signage and public art. Funds will also be used to support the development of a companion trail curriculum to revitalize how we teach Native history and culture in our community.

This project is a part of a larger Cultural Trail initiative that will span the City’s two-mile multi-use path along the lakeshore. The Cultural Trail will transform the existing path into a destination, telling a full history of our community and its centerpiece, Lake Superior. The Cultural Trail will connect, honor, and give voice to the multiple stories, places, and natural features along the lakeshore.

Fellow grantees included Suttons Bay Public Schools, Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College, Petoskey Public Schools, Clinton Community Schools, and Paw Paw Public Schools. The NAHF, approved in 2016 as part of the Second Amendment to the Tribal-State Gaming Compact between the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi (NHBP) and the State of Michigan, allocates a portion of NHBP’s state revenue- sharing payments from its Fire Keepers Casino Hotel to the Fund. The NAHF grants resources to schools, colleges, universities, and local units of government to promote positive relationships and accurate information about the history and role of Michigan’s Indian tribes and Native Americans, including mascot changeovers and curriculum development.