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2024 Michigan Archaeology Poster
Eni’aankeshkaadjik: Generations of Connection: American Indian Views of Traditional Cultural Places and Landscapes
Societies have special relationships with the places and spaces in which they dwell. Over generations, places gain meaning and often become part of our social identity and sense of belonging. Significant places where communities define their history, identity, and lifeways are called Traditional Cultural Places or Landscapes (TCPs or TCLs).
These are not places relegated to history books. They are living places that continue to have significance to the traditions of a particular community. This year, we explore their meaning on the 2024 Michigan Archaeology Poster and this webpage.
Archaeology is the study of human history by investigating the material remains, objects, and buildings we create and use. Sometimes, archaeology involves careful excavation of the land and a systematic study of what and where artifacts are found. Other times, archaeology is about listening to a community of people with a shared culture or background and respecting the land which embodies a special significance. Both methods lead to a better understanding of the people who came before us.
Archaeology can make the history of a place and community tangible and connect us to people who once walked in the same places we step today. Traces of the past may often quite literally be buried beneath our feet, even in places where no evidence remains on the surface. While the landscape may transform and change, there can still be archaeological deposits intact, revealing the stories of those who lived there before us.
This poster features the stories of several of Michigan's Traditional Cultural Places (TCPs). For this year's poster, SHPO worked with some of Michigan's Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs) to learn about what TCPs mean to them. This webpage and the poster are the result of these conversations.
The photography enjoyed on the poster and many of the images provided for this webpage is by Niibing Giizis (Summer Moon) Photography Studio, Artist Marcella Hadden. The Anishinaabemowin translation is provided by Isabelle Osawamick and Howard Webkamigad of the Anishinaabe Language Revitalization Department, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. We thank them for sharing their passions for this project.
The Three Fires Confederacy
At the time of European colonization of the Great Lakes and for generations before, what is now known as Michigan was the home of the Anishinaabe people. The Anishinaabe are a confederacy nation comprised of the Ojibwe [Ojibway/Chippewa], Odawa [Ottawa] and Bodéwadmi [Potawatomi]. This conferency is known as the Council of the Three Fires. Many of their descendents continue to live in Michigan today.
TCPs may include both natural places and culturally built spaces that serve as a focal point for cultural practices and to reinforce community identity. Traditional Cultural Places are largely associated with American Indians and their respective nations, but the use of TCPs as a category of historic place is not limited to Native Americans. Michigan has 13 recognized TCPs, including Anaem Omot, the homeland of the Menominee Tribe, most recently designated in 2023. The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) asked Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs) with TCPs in Michigan about what these places mean to them:
Anishinaabemowin
Anishinaabek kchi piitendaanaa’aan Enji-mnidookeng zaam shpendaanaa’aa Mnidooaadziwin etek endaa’aad. Kchi nshinaabebaaniik genwaamdaanaa’aan ninda Enji-mnidookeng wiitemigak jiiskiikaan, enji kinomaadeng, gii’iwseng, enji aansokeng, enji minominakeng maage enji ziisbaakdokeng. Mshkikiin nangkwadnoong gtigaadenoon noo’oonch gwachi waanenakaaswad wii-mnomaadziwad. Jidaa ezhnaakwak Aki daa’aan kchi gete kendaaswin. Giishpin ninda Enji-mnidookeng nzhe-naadchigaadek, mii jingwashkaamgak ezhi-debwenjigewad. Gete ngokaanan, Kchi nshinaabebaaniik ganji nwebwad, geye gwa kchi piitendaakdoon. Kina gwaya naasaab zhignowaabmigaasaa. Kina gego naasaab zhignowaamjigaade. Kaa gwaya ooshme shpigaabwisii.
(English translation of Anishinaabemowin is approximate, some concepts do not translate exactly.)
English Translation
For American Indian Tribes, TCPs are significant because they hold a special and spiritual connection to our communities and shared histories. These places were identified by our ancestors, and we continue to utilize them for a variety of reasons such as ceremonies, teachings, storytelling, harvesting, hunting, or processing traditional indigenous food such a wild rice or maple syrup. Traditional herbs for medicinal purposes are grown in certain places and are culturally relied upon for good health and wellbeing. Natural sites and landscapes may hold deep ancestral knowledge. Shared value, histories, and significant traditional lifeways are lost when these places are destroyed or polluted. Historic cemeteries and burial mounds, where our ancestors rest, are also sacred sites. Native Americans understand our place in this world as being grounded within the natural world and not as separate or superior to all other beings that make up our world.
Traditional Cultural Place Q&A
A Traditional Cultural Place (TCP) is a property that is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) based on its associations with the cultural practices, traditions, beliefs, lifeways, arts, crafts, or social institutions of a living community. TCPs are rooted in a traditional community’s history and are important in maintaining the continuing cultural identity of the community. The cultural practices or beliefs that give a TCP its significance are, in many cases, still observed at the time a TCP is considered for inclusion in the NRHP. Because of this, it is sometimes perceived that the practices or beliefs themselves, not the property, make up the TCP. While the beliefs or practices associated with a TCP are of central importance, the NRHP does not include intangible resources. The TCP must be a physical place -- that is, a district, site, building, structure, or object.
A TCP may be a place significant to the origin or traditions of a Native American tribe, but could also be a rural landscape which was settled and continues to reflect a particular cultural history, or an urban neighborhood that continues to reflect the cultural identity of a particular ethnic group or community, among other examples.
The identification of TCPs can help preserve those physical properties associated with often-intangible aspects of a local community’s cultural history. Listing in the NRHP provides traditional communities with a way to document and protect those places associated with their cultural practices, traditions, beliefs, lifeways, arts, crafts, or social institutions. In addition, listing a TCP in the NRHP mandates a review process for any Federal, federally licensed, or federally assisted projects that might affect the property as well as requiring consultation with the affected traditional community.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archaeological resources.
It is important to note that the National Register is a particular historic designation program with particular criteria. Not all places with historical places are eligible for the National Register program. Other designation and recognition programs may also be used to celebrate historic places, but the TCP is a specific type of documentation framework that emphasizes a place’s value and significance to a living community.
At the present time, 13 Traditional Cultural Places have been identified in Michigan. Others are presently being studied. Each place may be significant to a particular community in one or more ways. Explore the next section of this webpage for more information about a few of Michigan's TCPs.
Definitely not! We know there are other places of significance to particular communities which likely meet the criteria to be designated as Traditional Cultural Places and deserve to be celebrated in this way. Although the TCP/NRHP designations are formally decided by an action of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, the first step in proposing a TCP and nominating it for listing starts by contacting the State Historic Preservation Office - that's us!
We have a special form for this. If you have a potential TCP in mind, please review the instructions document below, and then fill out and submit the TCP Documentation Form. A SHPO staff specialist will follow up with you for additional information and with next steps.
TCP Documentation Form Instructions (.PDF)
TCP Documentation Form (.DOCX)
For more information about special TCP considerations, and a discussion of the types of places that may be eligible for a TCP designation, along with other questions, explore the 2-page Quick Guide for Traditional Cultural Places/Properties, produced by the National Park Service.
Tradition beyond the place
Traditional Cultural Places focus on physical spaces and the traditions/significance of those locations. But what about other cultural traditions? Anishinaabemowin is the traditional spoken language of the Anishnaabe people, and after generations of (at times coerced) assimilation into Western society, the native language is at high risk of being permanently lost. In some circumstances, only a few tribal elders may be fluent in the language. Efforts like the Anishinaabe Language Revitalization Department of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe are successfully engaging with children to teach the language from an early age.
You can learn Anishinaabemowin too! 'Turtle' translates to Mshiikenh. 'Bird' translates to Bineshii. And 'corn' translates to Mandamin.
A Selection of Michigan Traditional Cultural Places
Thirteen Michigan places or landscapes have been formally designated as Traditional Cultural Places. In the next section, we explore some of them - as indicated on this map.
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Traditional Cultural Landscapes
Anaem Omot Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
Archaeology 101
Eni’aankeshkaadjik/Generations of Connection line by line translation
Ezhibiigaadek Asin/Knowledge Written on Stone 2018 Archaeology Poster
Michigan Archaeology Month
Michigan State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)
Michigan SHPO, Archaeology program
Michigan SHPO, National Register of Historic Places program
Minoomin (Wild Rice) and Berries Recipe
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966
National Park Service, Archaeology Laws
National Park Service Bulletin 38 (Traditional Cultural Properties/Places)
Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park Visitor Information
Webinar: TCPs and National Register Listed Archaeological Sites in Michigan (1-hour Youtube video)
Traditional Cultural Places are sites and landscapes that have historic significance to a community and continue to have cultural relevance to that community today. Understanding a TCP isn't about searching for artifacts so much as it is listening to and respecting the stories and traditions of a people who have a long term connection to the land. Each time a TCP is studied and nominated, we have an opportunity to better understand the lives and customs of those who came before us.
