A memorial marker will be placed on the UW-Stevens Point grounds to acknowledge indigenous people buried there many years ago. This historical aerial photo shows the campus in the 1950s. (Photo courtesy of UWSP)
STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU) — A marker to honor a former use of the land is being added in Stevens Point.
Thursday afternoon a memorial marker will be installed on the UW-Stevens Point campus to recognize the ground the university sits on was an indigenous peoples’ burial site. The campus resides on land that was at one point a camp for the Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi tribes in the 1800s after they were forced out of their ancestral homelands.
The marker being put up on Thursday is only temporary as a more permanent exhibit acknowledging the indigenous peoples’ history of the land is designed by incoming faculty and students. Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs Al Thompson says the marker will be another way for the university to honor its past and history with the indigenous communities of Central Wisconsin.
“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to commemorate our history. It’s not something we take lightly. We’ve had a proud history of contributions and working with the Native communities around the state. And we look forward to a new chapter and to add new history to all of this.”
Thompson adds that the memorial marker has been in the works for a couple of years as a university committee worked on learning the history of the land. “After a committee was formed there had been discussions about trying to acknowledge this situation. And acknowledge that this burial site is there. We don’t have the specific location but we know some part of this campus that could have a Native burial site from the turn of the century.”
The ceremony being held at noon on Thursday will install the memorial marker and include remarks from committee members, tribal nations representatives, and university faculty. Due to gathering limits, the university is recommending the public watch the ceremony through Zoom.
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