New Sign Recognizes History of US-2, Built on Native American Trail
By Karen Gould

The US-2 multicultural sign dedication ceremony began with a traditional song honoring the occasion by Cecil Pavlat (left) and Josh Homminga.

US-2 through the Upper Peninsula follows an old Indian trail, and so a new sign recognizing the historical and cultural significance of the highway has been installed at Telescope Park, seven miles west of St. Ignace and was dedicated Monday, July 31. The history of the road and its importance to cultural and economic development in the Upper Peninsula is written in English on one side of the sign and in Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwa on the other

"The first land surveys, completed in the 1840s, indicate that there was an Indian trail, later coach road, running from St. Ignace to Gros Cap along the path which US-2 presently occupies," states the sign. "Further west, surveyors recorded Native American trails following rivers and streams from the coast north into the interior of the U.P. This allowed the early inhabitants of the peninsula to walk or canoe south to the coast, then travel both east and west. This served as an informal, but important, corridor for transportation and commerce for the indigenous people of Michigan."

Representatives from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and officials from the Michigan Department of Transportation dedicated the historical marker at Telescope Park on US-2. Participants include (from left) Unit 1 Representative Dennis McKelvie, Unit 1 Representative Joe Eitrem, translator Rhonda Hopkins, Unit 3 Representative Fred Paquin, translator Nancy Debassige, Nemin Matrisous of the cultural division, Tribal Chairman Aaron Payment, drummer Josh Homminga, Unit 3 Representative Keith Massaway, Cultural Repatriation Specialist Cecil Pavlat, MDOT Communications

Tribal language instructors Rhonda Hopkins and Nancy Debassige wrote the translation.

The dedication was attended by representatives from the Sault Ste.

Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and the Michigan Department of Transportation.

"It's important to recognize the role that US-2 has played in our state's history, and the use of this route by native peoples before recorded history," said John Batchelder, manager of MDOT's Newberry Transportation Service Center.

Mr. Batchelder said the Sault and Green Bay Stagecoach Trail ran parallel to Lake Michigan from St. Ignace to Green Bay, Wisconsin and minor trails that branched off from the Sault and Green Bay Trail have become county roads.

"To honor Anishinaabek Ojibwa people in this way, I think is very important," said Cecil

Pavlat, cultural repatriation specialist for the tribe, the bilingual sign. "Language is so important to us. It's a part of who we are and it reminds us of where we came from."

Tribal Chairman Aaron Payment agreed.

"We've been here forever and it is a very moving thing when others recognize that and they reach out to us. As a tribal member, I humbly appreciate that," said Mr. Payment.

The transportation department identified the project as part of its

2005 centennial celebration and is part of a more "holistic approach to transportation," said Mr. Batchelder. The department now is working in what can be considered nontraditional areas, including non-motorized trail development, aviation projects under its Bureau of Aeronautics, and marine transportation, like the construction work on the State Dock at British Landing on Mackinac Island.

Money for the US-2 sign came from federal Transportation Enhancement funds.