Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways: Community Curation & Collaboration
Through the guidance of our professor, Dr. Cusack-McVeigh, we learned about the physical and cultural genocide inflicted upon Native American groups by European settlers. After these preparations, our class made a four-day long trip to Mt. Pleasant, Michigan to complete work at the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways. We were graciously hosted by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe who own the museum.
My tasks at the museum included dusting and cleaning objects and displays, checking for pests and insects, and preparing a gallery for a new exhibition. Other members of the class were tasked with cleaning a bear pelt or helping organize the archives. Over the course of the weekend, the entire exhibition space was cleaned from top to bottom and the change was visible. The power was in the number of students we had taking on the work.
What was most remarkable about the experience, however, was the lessons we all learned from the members of the tribe. Through this experience, I gained knowledge about the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe, their history and their present. I experienced the generosity of the tribe, who housed and fed us all for four days, shared their painful stories about the local Indian Boarding School, gave us a Anishinabek language lesson, and gifted all of the students with presents for the hard work well done. It was through collaborative effort on the part of the class and the tribe that the work got done and the memories were made.