History

“In my view as an ethnohistorian, archaeologist, and a scholar familiar with the history of this area of northwest Michigan, I can say without hesitation that the only true and realistic way to understand the Antrim Creek Natural Area is to introduce the visitors to the modern area as a product of twelve thousand years in which its natural history and cultural history have been intertwined.

The natural features we see today are the result of social as well as natural factors. Native people, the ancestors of modern Ojibwe and Odawa, who are our neighbors today occupied the ACNA for more than 8,000 years before Euro-Americans arrived, less than 350 years ago. 

 

To start this story of the natural area without regard to the way it was used by the native people is a sad mistake for many reasons, chief among them is that is robs us of a chance to explain another way forward for the modern use of the ACNA, which puts less stress on this beautiful part of our world.”

-Dr. Charles Cleland

Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Anthropology

Michigan State University