The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers are considering removing an obelisk at the Soo Locks. The monument was built in 1907 on a Native American burial ground important to Michigan-based tribal communities. It currently sits at Brady Park, which is an ancestral burial site used for cultural practices. The obelisk was built back in to mark the 50th anniversary of the Locks in 1907.
“During the time that it occurred, no tribal nation was informed,” said Whitney Gravelle, president of the Bay Mills Indian Community.
Gravelle says the tribe has been advocating for the monument’s removal for over 30 years.
“Our history department had to come together and, through archival records research, as well as through some archaeological diggings and findings near Brady Park, [we] then had to prove to the Army Corps of Engineers that it was even a burial mound.”
The Army Corp has tentatively planned to remove the obelisk and dispose of it.
“This alternative accomplishes the main objective of removing the Obelisk from the burial site and is fiscally and technically feasible in a brief time frame,” said an analysis of potential solutions from the USACE.
“There's a couple of different options we're thinking about,” said Curtis Sedalcek and Archaeologist and the USAGE’s tribal liaison in Detroit. “It will be disposed of in an appropriate location for a large object or, if it was broken down into smaller pieces, where smaller, smaller pieces of it could be placed,” he said on the potential disposal of the monument.
According to the analysis, the cost to remove and dispose of the monument would run about $300,000 if done with internal USAGE resources, with a cost of $1,234,000, if the work was contracted out.
That’s less than the cost of moving the obelisk to a different spot on the Soo Locks, which would be at least $400,000 if done with internal resources and at least $2,025,000 if contracted out.
Gravelle says the site is of high value to the tribe.
"Our burial sites become even more important, not only because of the people who are buried there, but also because of the artifacts that we bury with our ancestors and with our loved ones,” she said. “Each burial site actually tells a story and the history of Bay Mills Indian community, of the Sault Ste. Marie tribe of Chippewa Indians."
The Army Corp has taken public comments of the obelisk removal plan and are currently consulting with state and federal preservation officials and tribes on next steps.
