Saving Sibley Prairie means saving a community’s history too

June 24, 2026, 5:10 a.m. ET

The Black to the Land Coalition is working to uncover the Black and Indigenous history of Sibley Prairie, one of southeast Michigan’s rarest ecosystems, according to a community announcement.

Sibley Prairie, in Brownstown Township, is one of the last remaining examples of a lakeplain wet prairie ecosystem in the region. Wetlands are rare in the region, with an estimated 95% having been destroyed since European settlement. Lakeplain wet prairies are even rarer, with about 99.5% of the ecosystem eliminated across its historic range, according to the Michigan Natural Features Inventory.

A new initiative called Black in Brownstown is bringing attention to a little-known chapter of local Black history. Regina Hunter, one of the last remaining members of a historic Black farming and homesteading community in the area, reached out to the coalition to help ensure her community’s story is not forgotten.

The Black to the Land Coalition is working to uncover the Black and Indigenous history of Sibley Prairie, one of southeast Michigan's rarest ecosystems. Sibley Prairie, in Brownstown Township, is one of the last remaining examples of a lakeplain wet prairie ecosystem in the region.

Black farming community began in the 1940s

The Black farming community was established in the 1940s and grew to about 60 families in the 1970s. Many of the families had roots in the rural South and arrived in the Detroit area during the Great Migration. The wet, largely undeveloped lands surrounding Sibley Prairie offered affordable opportunities for families to grow food, raise livestock and build community.

While much of the region was rapidly developed during the 20th century, the continued presence of Black farmers and homesteaders may have played an important role in protecting portions of the prairie and wetlands that survive today, according to the announcement.

“The story of Sibley Prairie is not just a conservation story,” Antonio Cosme, co-founder of Black to the Land Coalition, said in the announcement. “Sure, there are rare species here. But there are rare stories here, too … stories about Indigenous resistance, Black self-determination, migration, rural gentrification and the ways communities have cared for and been sustained by this land.”

Community reunion in the works

The coalition is partnering with Black Bottom Archives to organize a community reunion in the fall. The event aims to bring together former residents, descendants, oral historians and media makers to document memories, photographs and stories connected to the community settlement.

Additionally, the coalition is building on existing relationships with Indigenous partners to strengthen support for Sibley Prairie and ensure Indigenous perspectives remain central to its future. The coalition collaborates with the Detroit Indigenous Peoples Alliance through activities including the Waawiyataanong Sugarbush and wild rice harvesting. It hopes to garner support from additional local and regional tribal communities in the restoration and interpretation of the prairie.

“We recognize that restoring land also means restoring relationships,” Antonio Cosme said in the announcement. “The future of Sibley Prairie depends not only on fundraising and its ecological restoration, but on reconnecting with the communities whose histories and stewardship practices are intertwined with this place.”