GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Two years ago, the City of Grand Rapids officially recognized the second Monday of October as Indigenous People’s Day. However, for Ron Yob, the day is as significant as any other day, and persevering local indigenous history has always been a top priority.
It’s something he’s achieved throughout the years at Ah-Nab-Awen park. Monday, he took FOX 17 on a brief tour of all that’s created there.
“That’s a symbol of our tribe right there, is that turtle,” Yob said while pointing to an etching of a turtle on a plaque. “The Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians, they’re bands because we consisted of 19 villages that went from Grand Haven to almost Jackson, Michigan.”
Yob is chairman of the bands. Last year, he put up a plaque honoring the 200th anniversary of the Treaty of Chicago.
“What I tried to do when I had that put in there was that I wanted to point out that the west side of Grand Rapids in that map is still labeled as Indian Country,” Yob said. “Actually in 1821, still Indian country ’til the 1836 treaty, but it was still stewarded by the natives of the Grand River band, natives of this community. Then the 1821 Treaty of Chicago ceded the land on the south side of the river at that point.”
On one side the large plaque is a map of what the area looked like in the early 1800s. The other side explained what happened during the Treaty of Chicago, which is when the territory south of the Grand River and west of what’s today called Jackson, Michigan were ceded to the U.S. government.
“Behind us there’s mounds, which are totally just Earth landscapes,” Yob said. “They’re not real mounds. It’s just to show that there is a core of people in Grand Rapids that are actually indigenous to this community. There’s probably less than 500 of us left.”
Yob said there may be 3,000 indigenous people in and around Grand Rapids. However, 500 are native to the area.
He added that the word indigenous not only meant people, but included all living beings that lived in the area like animals, insects, and trees.
He showed FOX 17 a plaque that honored the plum trees that once stood along the river. For years, it was a place of healing for their people. However, they’ve since burned down.
Throughout the centuries, he said indigenous people have endured other treaties, wars, and mistreatments. But, the people’s spirit and history have remained.
“Columbus founded something that already existed,” Yob said. “It’s like Louis Campau, they call him the father of Grand Rapids but Grand Rapids existed 2,000 years before he set foot in Grand Rapids.”
