Detroit committee advances transfer of Fort Wayne burial mound to Potawatomi tribe

The Detroit City Council Neighborhood and Community Service standing committee moved a proposal to transfer a Native American burial mound at Fort Wayne to the Natawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi to formal session with a recommendation for approval after hearing a presentation from the city and remarks from tribal leaders.

The transfer request covers roughly 0.58 acres containing the Fort Wayne mound (part of the historic Spring Wells Mound Group), and would include easement access for the tribe to perform ceremonial uses, cultural interpretation and land stewardship. Crystal Perkins, director of the General Services Department, said the city fenced the mound and has surveyed the site; past excavations confirmed the presence of human remains dating back to about AD 750.

The committee’s action moves the item out of committee and onto the council’s new business calendar for a formal vote. “Line item 6.1, we move to formal session with recommendation for approval,” the chair said after no objections were raised.

Why it matters: the Fort Wayne mound is an archaeological and culturally significant site. Federal historic-preservation rules and tribal consultation played a central role in the proposal. Perkins told the committee the city completed Section 106 consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 with multiple tribal…