The Atrium Blog

On Wed, November 11, 2009, Jim McClurken did a presentation for the Grand Rapids Public Library on his work in researching the history of Michigan Indians. He commented that when he started his research in the 1970s at the Grand Rapids Public Library there were only three books on Michigan’s Native Americans. Since that time much more has been written, especially by Native Americans documenting their own history. McClurken spent countless hours reading microfilm of old newspapers searching for references to Michigan Indians. He has donated hundreds of these newspaper clippings to the local history department. McClurken commented that since the earliest days, the Grand Rapids Press paid attention to the local Indians and his collection of clippings prove that. He also mentioned that when Civil Rights became a big issue in the 1970s the Grand Rapids Press made sure to include articles on local annual Pow-wows. This public exposure was the first time that many people realized that we had Native Americans in our community.
McClurken also made mention of the fact that the Grand Rapids Public Library was one of the first, if not the very first, organizations in Michigan that made an effort to collect oral histories of local Indian elders. Based on these interviews, the Grand Rapids Public Library published the book, The Tree That Never Dies: Oral Histories of Michigan Indians which attempted to document the history, lifestyle, mores, religion, society, economic conditions, crafts, and education of Indians in West Michigan.

Filed under: Event, Research
Tags: Local History, Michigan Indians, Michigan Native Americans
by Chris on November 13, 2009