Parks in Partnership: The Wyandot of Anderdon Nation

December 30, 2025

By: Kevin Arnold, District Interpretive Supervisor

Partnerships and partners are extremely important to the Interpretive Staff at the Huron-Clinton Metroparks. Working with other like-minded organizations on programming, developing signage and helping shape both our facilities, and the facilities of others, is a key component in what we are able to communicate to our visitors. One partnership that is important to us on a number of levels occurs at the Oakwoods Metropark Nature Center. This partnership helps to bring life to the past, knowledge to the present, and hope to the future. It is our partnership with the members of the Wyandot of Anderdon Nation.

Through a series of treaties in the late-1700s and early 1800s, culminating with the Treaty of St. Mary’s, the Wyandot Nation was given 4,996 acres of land known as The Wyandot Reserve. Much of this land would eventually become part of Willow and Oakwoods Metroparks. From the moment the Oakwoods Nature Center opened in 1975, we have worked diligently to know and honor the Wyandot and their ancestors. Take our trail names for instance. The names Sky-come-Down, Bigtree, Longbark, and Split-log are not random or created names. These are the names of prominent members of the Wyandot community. Chief Split-log was one of the last Wyandot of his era to hold onto traditional ways of life, Chief Sky-come-Down was a signer of the Treaty of Greenville, and James Bigtree signed the 1842 Treaty with the Wyandot. It is an honor for our staff to work alongside members of the Wyandot of Anderdon to educate others about their history and culture.

In 2018, the Metroparks began working with Taylor Studios on updating the exhibits for the Oakwoods Nature Center. One of the key components of designing the new exhibits was ensuring that the story of the Wyandot history in and around the park was highlighted. Staff contacted Grand Chief Ted Roll, of the Wyandot of Anderdon, to become a consultant for the exhibit design group. Chief Roll, along with other members of the Wyandot Nation, were asked to “tell their story.” We believe that the story is not the parks to tell. There is an entire wall of the nature center dedicated to the Wyandot of Anderdon. Everything that is part of the exhibit is something that the Wyandot wanted to convey about their people and culture. From the Wyandot Origin Story, to their Thanksgiving Prayer, and the plants used for medicinal purposes; each bit of information was put in place to give a glimpse into Wyandot life. Also present, is a representation of Katie Quaqua’s cabin, which was located in present-day Willow Metropark in the Chestnut Bend picnic area. It was in this cabin that her daughter Tarema, which translates to Holding Mud or Carrying a Pond, was born. Also known by her European name, Mary Mckee, she holds a very prominent place in the Wyandot Culture.

Because of our connection to the Wyandot Nation, the Huron-Clinton Metroparks and the Staff of the Oakwoods Nature Center, cherish the partnership we have with Chief Ted and the rest of the Tribe. We look forward to continuing to help educate others about their history and culture through events like Native American Week, held at the River Raisin Battlefield in Monroe, Native American Day held on the Joe Louis Greenway in Detroit, and others. Be sure to visit the Oakwoods Nature Center to learn more.