Eaton County

Sunfield Black (20EA30)

Published in Federal Register September 8, 2020

These ancestors were returned to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan on August 25, 2022.

These individuals were located by a private land owner when plowing behind his barn. The burials were uncovered and sent to MSU. MSU excavated the area where the burials originated, locating fire-cracked rock and stone tool debitage. These artifacts are being considered associated funerary objects based on the location they were recovered from. The artifacts were accessioned into the collections as 4335.13.

MNI = 2

AFO = 15

These individuals were originally listed on MSU's NAGPRA inventory, but then removed as they were not associated with the MSU Museum but with the Forensic Anthropology Lab. In 2019, it was decided to condense our efforts and only have one department providing NAGPRA listings. They are being relisted as part of the 2019/2020 inventory update.

We have the following documentation: the skeletal assessment form, the archaeological report summarizing the discovery, and an artifact inventory.

These individuals were published to the Federal Register (link to published notice) on September 8, 2020.

Transfer of Legal Control

Legal control for these ancestors was transferred to the following Tribes on October 20, 2020:

  • Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan
  • Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan
  • Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigan
  • Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Michigan
  • Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan
  • Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan

Tribes Consulted and Invited to Consult

  • Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
  • Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation, Wisconsin
  • Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan
  • Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana (previously listed as the Chippewa-Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana)
  • Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma
  • Delaware Nation, Oklahoma
  • Delaware Tribe of Indians
  • Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma
  • Forest County Potawatomi Community, Wisconsin
  • Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan
  • Hannahville Indian Community, Michigan
  • Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigan
  • Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas
  • Kickapoo Tribe of Indians of the Kickapoo Reservation in Kansas
  • Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma
  • Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
  • Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation of Wisconsin
  • Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Michigan
  • Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Michigan
  • Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana
  • Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, Michigan
  • Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan
  • Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
  • Miami Tribe of Oklahoma
  • Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Six component reservations: Bois Forte Band (Nett Lake); Fond du Lac Band; Grand Portage Band; Leech Lake Band; Mille Lacs Band; White Earth Band)
  • Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi, Michigan
  • Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma
  • Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
  • Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana
  • Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation
  • Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
  • Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, Minnesota
  • Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska
  • Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma
  • Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa
  • Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan
  • Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan
  • Seneca Nation of Indians
  • Seneca-Cayuga Nation
  • Shawnee Tribe
  • Sokaogon Chippewa Community, Wisconsin
  • St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
  • Stockbridge Munsee Community, Wisconsin
  • Tonawanda Band of Seneca
  • Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota

Sites & Collections