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While traveling through Bay Mills in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, I noticed a sign on a large pine tree located in the Native American cemetery. The sign reads:
“THE LEGEND OF THIS PINE TREE – Among the Native Americans who relocated from Nayohmekong to the current Indian mission at Bay Mills was a young girl named Eliza (Waishkey) Labranch, who was fifteen at the time. (Born Jan 4, 1847 – Died Nov 16, 1917). Eliza chose this tree, then just a twig, and planted it at the head of her grandfather Waishkey’s (Lawbawclic) grave. (Born 1778 – Died 1847)
He belonged to the Caribou Clan and served as the Chief of the Waishkey Band of Chippewa Indians. The White Pine tree was planted around the year 1848.
I had never noticed the sign before, but it serves as a powerful reminder of the enduring connection between generations, symbolized by this long-standing tree.
Note: I admired the cemetery from outside the fence and took this photograph from the road.
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