A proposal to reintroduce indigenous artwork to the pedestrian tunnel at Clinch Park is one of several new community projects aimed at increasing recognition of area tribes.

A committee comprised of city officials, residents and Grand Traverse Band (GTB) of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians members presented a proposal to the city's Parks & Recreation commission to mount an interim art display in the Clinch Park tunnel with an “indigenous theme and perspective.” The display would replace Anishinaabek paintings by artist Lois Beardslee that had been in the tunnel since the mid-1990s and were removed during last year's park renovations.

“The renovations went over artwork that was meaningful to both Native and non-Native people,” says committee member and GTB Councilor Derek Bailey. “That hurt the elders...it represented something special to them. This is an opportunity to correct that oversight.”

The committee has identified two goals: first, to install a banner framework along the tunnel walls that would feature an interim display of Native-themed artwork depicting the region's flora and fauna; and second, to study the long-term possibility of a permanent, above-ground Clinch Park “history walk” reflecting local tribal heritage through the years.

“The idea is to have a series of panels outside of the tunnel, basically a mural, that starts a few hundred years ago and gradually moves up until today,” explains committee member and GTB Councilor Mark Wilson. “That project will take a lot more planning...it's a long-term vision.”

Parks & Recreation commissioners unanimously supported the tunnel banner proposal at their June meeting, forwarding it to the city commission for final approval (City Manager Jered Ottenwess says the commission will likely consider the issue at its August 18 meeting).

Commissioner Gary Howe – who serves on the commission's artwork committee – notes, “The first effort should be to honor the indigenous artwork that was there previously. From there, our proposal provides flexibility to the city...to do a series of banners and have a continually rotating presence in the tunnel.” TC-based Britten Banners will handle banner printing for the project at a reduced rate, and Howe adds that either city or Downtown Development Authority (DDA) funding or private donations could help cover the remaining costs.

Other efforts are already underway to recognize the historical presence and contributions of regional tribes inside the park. Ottenwess says a historical sidewalk marker denoting the early presence of the Anishinaabek will be added to a concrete path in Clinch Park by “the end of August.” Bailey approached the city commission last December to request the addition after realizing the park's current historical markers began at 1852 and left out local Native American history, which pre-dates the site's current timeline by several hundred years.

Around the corner at the Bijou by the Bay, meanwhile, filmmaker Michael Moore has enlisted artist Glenn Wolff to return to the theater to update his mural – which covers both sides of the venue's walls with depictions of local geography – to include Native references. “I added a vignette of an Odawa village on the beach part of the mural last week,” Wolff says. “It's possible more could still be added or changed. The feeling is we want to make sure we get it right.”

Bailey believes the Clinch projects, though independent of one another, will go a long way toward helping educate residents and visitors on the vital contributions of tribes to the community – both in the past and today.

“We're not just historical – we're here now,” Bailey says, noting GTB is the second-largest employer in the region and largest employer in Leelanau County. “We still maintain a strong economic presence in the area, just like our ancestors did. Native and non-Native relations have grown positively over the years, but there's still a lot of work to be done. Hopefully, these types of projects can help foster the understanding that we're all related, we're all in this together.”