As a member of Grand Valley State University’s custodial staff, Dave Edwards is helping to clean up the Norton Mounds with the help of members of the Grand Rapids Native American community and Grand Valley State University’s generosity.

Located between Wilson Street and Market Avenue on Mounds Drive, the Norton Mounds, overseen by the Grand Rapids Public Museum, collectively make up a Hopewellian mound site from an ancient civilization that lived from the Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to the Gulf Coast. They date back 2,000 years.

According to the Grand Rapids Public Museum website, this site is the most preserved Hopewellian cemetery and one of the most important archaeological sites in Michigan. The museum is currently working on preserving the burial grounds.

“There is much more to be done at the Norton burial grounds,” Edwards said. “The site has become a dumping ground for many, as well as the trash that blows in from the adjacent highway. The Grand Rapids Museum . . . [has] been discussing possible plants to extend fencing and cutting over growth near the mounds themselves.”

In May, a group of people from the West Michigan American Indian Movement and volunteers, including Edwards, went to clean at the Norton Mounds. Edwards was able to receive loaned equipment from GVSU, which included recycling and trash containers, tie-downs and other materials needed to clean up the area.

Terry Frechette, chairman of the AIM and Edwards’ good friend, got him involved with the group, which works to further the rights and cultural understanding of Native Americans in the U.S.

Frechette and others worked to develop the group in West Michigan. Although he is not of Native descent himself, he said he is interested in the culture and feels both appreciation and passion toward it.

“I think it was the spiritual aspects of native culture that first interested me, as I enjoy studying comparative religions,” Edwards said. “The reason [for cleaning the mounds] is to bring back respect to the burial grounds as the resting place of native ancestors. It is the Hopewell that are buried there.”

Although Edwards has not been associated with GVSU’s Native American Student Association (NASA), he and Frechette have met with GVSU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs to discuss developing a relationship with NASA as well as helping with Native American Heritage Month in November. While this interaction is still at its early stages, NASA has shown interest in becoming involved with Edwards’ work.

For more information about the Norton Mounds, visit the Grand Rapids Public Museum website at www.grmuseum.org.

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