Ann Arbor is not 200 years old… at least, not exactly… Yes, 2024 does officially mark two centuries of Treetown’s existence as a village, and then a city, as officially declared by the American authorities. But there was a colonial presence here before that. And of course, the Native American history of this place goes back centuries further.
“You are on Ashinabi land,” the central atrium of the University of Michigan Museum of Art reminds you.
The Washtenaw County’s Office of Community and Economic Development has recently launched an interactive map that allows you to use GIS technology to find and learn more about the roads native Michiganders made over centuries, that eventually got made into many of the streets that you and your neighbors use every day. All you have to do once you get to the page is click “layers” and select for Native American resources and Native American trails…