Lawmakers move to rename scenic M-22 after Native American Civil War sharpshooters

A proposal that improves in Lansing would rename a chunk of picturesque M-22 after a Michigan firm of Indian troopers fought within the civil conflict.

After he unanimously handed the Senate earlier this yr, a home committee superior the invoice on Tuesday 3 June that may designate virtually two miles of M-22 in Leelanau County as “Firm Okay Indian Veterans 1st Michigan Sharpshooters Civil Warfare Memorial Freeway.”

“The members of Firm Okay joined the battle to free oppressed residents, whereas they themselves had been confronted with their very own suppression,” mentioned Invoice Sponsor State Rep. John Damoose, R-Harbor Springs. “They knew what they fought for as a result of they lived it. My invoice merely acknowledges their service by mentioning a freeway in honor of them in Leelanau County, an space stuffed with their descendants.

“The hope is that whereas individuals cross by, they may see the board and take a second and bear in mind the sacrifices made by a gaggle of people that too usually don’t obtain the popularity they deserve in American historical past.”

Firm Okay of the first Michigan Sharpshooters was an all-native American unit led by primarily white officers. Though they had been exempt from design and utterly American citizenship denied, the lads, most of whom had been Ottawa, Chippewa and Potawatomi, voluntarily to combat.

Associated: Why an organization in Michigan of native troopers fought for a rustic that denied them citizenship

They participated within the Battle of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court docket Home, Chilly Harbor and Petersburg. Some had been captured and despatched to the notorious southern jail in Andersonville, Georgia.

Nearly a 3rd of his 139 members didn’t survive.

The piece M-22 that may be indicated in honor of them is situated between North Putman and North Stallman Roads by means of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB) Reserve. The tribe helps the renovation.

“I believe it’s an honor to commemorate our ancestors who participated within the civil conflict,” mentioned GTB chairman Sandra Witherspoon. “We wish to acknowledge their contribution to make sure that their braveness and sacrifices are reminded.”

Witherspoon mentioned that varied members of Firm Okay had been buried on the Cemetery Reservation in Peshawbestown, and there are nonetheless dwelling descendants below the tribe.

Certainly one of them is GTB Tribal member Scott Schwander, who mentioned his nice, nice -grandfather Marcus Otto and enormous, massive uncle Solomon Otto, belonged to those that fought in firm Okay.

Schwander has labored for years to get the designation in honor of the lads of firm Okay. He labored with Damoose earlier session to deliver the identical invoice ahead. Though it unanimously handed the Senate, there was by no means a vote in the home.

Some Indian males in Michigan tried to affix the Union Military early within the civil conflict, however had been denied.

“In reality, a person named Thomas Chitigo, who got here from Saginaw and now buried on the Elmwood Cemetery in Grayling, was instructed:” Sorry, we do not take your type now, “so he was rejected and the conflict raged,” Schwander mentioned.

Whereas the conflict was raging, these attitudes modified and Michigan started to permit the recruitment of Indian volunteers round 1864, Schwander mentioned.

“Nearly at night time, 139 males, together with a person from Canada, got here down they usually arrived,” he mentioned.

Along with customary drills, the lads had been examined earlier than they might change into a sniper. Schwander mentioned they needed to hit a five-inch plate with a black powder rifle at a distance of 200 meters.

All 139 males handed.

Schwander mentioned his nice, nice -grandfather Marcus Otto was being shot within the arm in the course of the battle for the wilderness. It needed to be eliminated in a discipline hospital.

“He got here dwelling with one arm,” mentioned Schwander. “Now he acquired a pension from a grateful nation, however that gratitude didn’t prolong to citizenship.”

It was not till 1924 that Indians acquired US citizenship.

Whereas a number of the males of Firm Okay are buried at unknown areas, others discovered their last resting locations in Emmet, Leelanau and Grand Traverse provinces, Schwander mentioned.

Schwander mentioned there isn’t any freeway within the US who focuses on Indian veterans of the civil conflict, making Michigan the primary when the laws has been authorised by the home.

“I might simply ask that you just help this invoice and attempt, so historical past has not been forgotten, as a result of it is vitally necessary that we keep in mind that historical past is our future,” Schwander instructed the legislators on Tuesday.

If authorised, GTB would pay for the prices of the memorial indicators on M-22.

“I believe it’s a fantastic option to inform individuals concerning the historical past of this space and the contributions that our ancestors have made,” mentioned Witherspoon.