Nearly two weeks ago, vandals tore the center apart, throwing food on the floor, destroying medicines and artifacts, and leaving graffiti on the walls.
Tribal citizens have been working since then to help clean up the damage.
“There will be repercussions if we can find out who did it, but there’s also going to be a lot of healing that needs to take place, too, not only for the individuals that did this, but also for our community.” said Whitney Gravelle is the president of the Bay Mills Indian Community executive council.
Gravelle says Bay Mills police continue to chase leads and interview people.
In the meantime, community members have done a lot of cleaning and are working to replace the floor in the cultural center.
They hope to re-open in the near future.
Cleanup continues at the Bay Mills Indian Community Cultural Center in the UP nearly two weeks after vandals caused tremendous damage.
Food was thrown on the floor. The walls were covered in graffiti. Medicines and cultural artifacts were destroyed.
She says after the damage was found, people showed up with buckets and mops.
They scrubbed the walls ripped up damaged carpet washed the kitchen and more.
“It was about 20 individuals that just came in over the course of the day, and they took no breaks and they just cleaned and cleaned and cleaned, and then it was back and better than it was originally.” said Gravelle.
The cultural center is still closed and there’s more work to be done. The damage was so bad that they need new floors, and the walls need fresh paint because not all the graffiti would come off.
But eventually, Gravelle says they plan to re-open and hold a community feast to welcome the public back.