A section of the Pentwater Township Cemetery historically used by local Native Americans for burial has been properly recognized and dedicated through work done by the Michigan Dunes Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). On Oct. 11 a bronze plaque marking and acknowledging the section was unveiled, and the ground and dead were honored in a ceremony conducted by Daniel Bissell, an elder member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and resident of Ludington.
The project was led by Shannon Larson, a state director for the DAR of Michigan, Dunes Chapter member and chair of the Friends of Pentwater Township Cemetery. During the dedication, Larson described the project as “very close to my heart, bringing together both my work with DAR and my work preserving and caring for this cemetery.”
Also invaluable in assisting the project was Brenda Hilderbrandt, another member of the Dunes Chapter and the Friends of Pentwater Township Cemetery.
Purchase and installation of the marker was funded through an America250MI grant in partnership with the Friends group and Pentwater Township.
In her speech, Larson recognized the names of three individuals whose burials are confirmed within the section of the cemetery: Frank Peters, Charles Skimhorn, and Dorothy Marsh, who was only 3 at the time of her passing. Larson also acknowledged the names of other possible burials - Frankie Shagonaby, Hosea Shaw and Mattie Pierce - and that the road to properly researching and recognizing every individual laid to rest is still ongoing.
“Today is about much more than dedicating a bronze marker,” said Larson. “It is about recognizing that people lived here, were part of this community, died here and were laid to rest in this cemetery. Their lives deserve the same dignity of remembrance that we hope to give every person whose story is held within these grounds.”
