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Mackinac Island has long been a burial location for the Anishnaabek (Odawa, Ojibway and Potawatomi). Some of the burials on the island are more than one thousand years old. It is a common practice for the Anishnaabek to bury their dead near water and their villages. Once their kin are interred, the Anishnaabek remember them in special ceremonies, often called “feasts of the dead” or “ghost suppers.” Michigan Odawa, Ojibway and Potawatomi communities hold these feasts in autumn. As part of respecting the dead, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians have worked with Mackinac State Historic Parks to repatriate ancestral human remains from Mackinac Island and Mackinaw City. The 1990 federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act governs this work. Mackinac Island is a special place for many native people. Manidook (spirits), events and the burials of the ancestors all contribute to the sacred nature of the island.