Most of the myths and mysteries about the Native-American Mound in Bronson Park have been resolved, but not all of them.
A study by Ground Penetrating Radar found a ring of posts driven into the ground around the edges of the circular earthwork, suggesting that it was a sacred place, but only a time capsule buried 60 years ago was found in the mound itself. Archeologist David Brose says the design suggests it’s from a specific time in history, used for some sort of tribal ceremonies.
"The mound itself was not a burial mound, there were no burials in it. But the mound itself had been built to commemorate some ceremonial activities that had taken place either in or around some sort of circular structure."
It’s the first real archaeological study that has ever been done on the mound, which is at least five times as old as any of the other man-made structures around it.
Gun Lake Tribal Councilwoman Phillis Davis says the plan is to place educational markers at the edges of the mound that will tell the story of the town’s previous occupants. Deputy City Manager Jeff Chamberlain says the city will ring the mound with Grandfather Stones and cover it with native plants. The mound’s surface has been restored and will be planted in the spring.
Conservation Program With Consumers Energy
Kalamazoo and Consumers Energy are working together on a first of it’s kind collaboration to conserve resources as the city is about to launch a major sustainability program. The City and the Utility will work with the owners of large public buildings, commercial structures and apartment complexes initially to identify ways they are wasting energy.
The programs will be part of a larger effort to improve the sustainability of the community, a Strategic Environmental master plan that should be presented to Commissioners before the end of the year.
Consumers Energy’s Brittany Cullimore says it’s a pilot program that will begin in Kalamazoo and expand from there. Kalamazoo Public Works Director James Baker says the city is putting together their own program to help homeowners make similar energy improvements to save water, gas and electricity.
