“Come and Get These Memories”

Well after much speculation, I’ve decided to focus on Civil Rights in a round about way for my individual project.  I recently visited the Motown Museum in Detroit with some friends for the first time (which is also one of Michigan’s Historical Sites as well).

If you drove down Grand Boulevard, you would probably miss this house unless there was a gaggle of tourists sitting on the front lawn at the time of your passing.  It fits right in between the other buildings with just a small parking lot on the side.  After taking the mandatory picture of ourselves in front of Hitsville, we decided to go ahead and actually go in the museum.  (YES, I am a history major, but NO I had not came with the intention of actually visiting the museum thinking it was more of a tourist trap than museum).  After seeing that it would cost $10, my poor college student instincts kicked in and said to myself, “there is no way I am paying $10 to walk through this house.”  Wrong.  I did pay the $10 and the cashier decided to tell me AFTER she had ran my debit card when I asked about discounts for school field trips that there were also discounts for college students (this was after we had also said we were from MSU).  So, anyways, I paid the $10 and life goes on.  The museum visit also comes with a tour, which I am generally never thrilled about.  I was wrong.

Motown Museum

The tour made the museum visit.  I would not have gotten nearly as much  without the help of the tour guide.  Not only was he very informative, but he was very entertaining.  It made every exhibit seem interactive.  So, if you decide to head over to the museum, pay the $10 and tap into the knowledge of the people who work there.  You won’t regret it.  While some parts are slightly “touristy,” they are entertaining.  They pull people in and keep you there.  And isn’t that an important mission of any museum -to have visitors?

However, what really struck me was the ingenuity of Berry Gordy (founder of Motown). I had know that racism affected the industry and creation of Motown; however, I was incredibly interested as the tour guide explained how Berry Gordy changed the industry to work arouond racism (how it affected the ways he “trained” singers, the way album covers were designed, etc.) and also how the indurstry worked to combat racism.

It was this that led me to the topic for my lesson plan.  I want to focus on different areas where this occured besides Motown (sports, literature, education, social groups, whatever).  Students always learn about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks.  That is not to say that they were not important, but I want to supplement that knowledge.  What were other people doing in other areas?

And just to explain the title of this post and for a little fun…

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Hunt for History…

What should have been a simple assignment ended up as a treasure hunt of sorts.  My Mission: to visit one of Michigan Historical Center’s official historic sites.  This would prove a much more complicated task that I planned…

First, I identified the site I was going to visit.  I decided on the United States’ Indian School in Mount Pleasant.  Then I decided I should probably find directions, rather than wandering aimlessly around Mount Pleasant.

Easier said than done.  According to the Historical Center’s website, the school is located on Harris St.  That is the entire address they provide.  Great.  The Historical Center website explains how in 1934 the school was given to the state of Michigan and became a home for the mentally challenged.  It said it was now part of the Mount Pleasant Regional Center for Developmental Disabilities.  So I decided to get an address and directions for there instead.  This gave me directions to an address of 1400 Pickard St.  So I wrote down both streets and went off to Mount Pleasant in search of what I hoped would be a hopeful expedition.

One hour later I get off the exit to find the school.  About ten minutes later, singing at the top of my lungs, I realize I turned the wrong way when I got off the exit.  So I quick turn around and head the other way on Pickard.  I know I have to go about three miles past the exit to get to the address I found for the Center for Developmental Disabilities.  After about only one mile, I’ve already reached 1400…no sign of the building.  So, I decided to keep going for the three miles.  I pass a chained off building that said that it was the Center, but it definitely was not the Indian School building.  So I decide to drive down Harris and see if I can see it there.  Well the good news  is that it was a short road.  The bad news is that there was no school.  Instead of turning back onto Pickard and heading back to the highway, I decided to go straight – the road changes names (so it is not Harris or Pickard)  – but I decide to go anyways.  Aha!  I found it (well actually I was taking pictures of a different building until I realized it was the wrong one).  On neither of the roads that I was given on-line.

However, I quickly realized that I would not be able to get close to the building.  There were no trespassing signs everywhere and every driveway had chains across so that you could not pull in.  It looked like the state had shut down the Developmental Center and had shut down all access.

This brings up a whole new issue with preservation of historical sites.  What is the goal and/or point of preserving these sites?  Is it simply to preserve history for the sake of preserving history?  Or is it for the public to learn more about their surroundings and how it connects to history?  If it has anything to do with the public, then my site is problematic.  The public is completely denied access.

You can identify this building as a site preserved by the Historical Center by the green marker posted on the building.  The public would have no idea of the significance of this building because they cannot get close enough to read the sign.  They probably would not even notice the sign unless they knew to look for it.  I had to take all the pictures from the road and then edited the pictures on my computer to zoom in and focus on the sign.

This is a very interesting historical site.   It was created in 1891 and operated until 1931 for educational and vocational training (with an average enrollment of 300) for Native Americans (according to the Michigan Historical Center).  It went from one building to several (including dormitories).  It had the same ambigous history as other Native American Boarding Schools at the time. (Check out this site about “Mount Pleasant’s Unpleasant School”).  This site would also have significance for much of the population of Mount Pleasant in particular.  Mount Pleasant is home to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe; many of this population has relatives who would have attended this school.

So, I simply don’t understand denying the public access to this building.  What is the point of preserving the building and posting a sign about its significance if people cannot get within one hundred yards of the building?  Once again, what is the role of history?  How about historical preservation?  I keep coming back to the same questions.  I think perhaps the problem is that everyone has different answers to these questions.

(Future teachers: I found this website about Native American boarding schools, but it also gives lesson plans and suggests books to use and avoid)

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