The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa says it was not consulted prior to work beginning on a Minnesota Highway 23 project at a Native American burial site.

"The band is deeply disappointed that these agencies did not uphold their legal obligation to protect a sacred site. We only learned about the project from a community member. State and federal agencies have an obligation to consult with Indian tribes on projects affecting tribes. That didn't happen," band Chairman Kevin Dupuis said in a statement on Thursday.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation halted work immediately on the project in Duluth's Fond du Lac neighborhood after the band raised concerns about the cemetery.

"We are working with the band and we appreciate their support. We have been meeting and jointly agreed on the next steps," MnDOT project manager Roberta Dwyer said.

The MnDOT project is located at the site of the Fond du Lac historic settlement and cemetery, and an inspection by MnDOT and the band earlier this week found human remains, according to the band's statement. The band has yet to determine whether the remains are Native American.

The band took issue with the lack of an archaeological study of the area prior to road construction commencing. The incident fits with a pattern, Dupuis said. He pointed out that Fond du Lac Village had graveyards that were disturbed on two previous occasions - when the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad passed through in 1869 and when Highway 23 was constructed in 1937.

"For over 100 years, the band's cemeteries and historic sites have been desecrated by poorly planned development. It's still happening today. This is wrong. It needs to stop," Dupuis said.

MnDOT is replacing the Mission Creek bridge and reducing the highway from four lanes to two. The bridge replacement includes relocating an access road to West Fourth Street, which crosses "a well-documented, historic Indian cemetery area," according to the band's statement.

MnDOT immediately halted work on the access road when the band alerted the agency about the cemetery at noon on May 26, said MnDOT project manager Roberta Dwyer. MnDOT spent last week consulting with Fond du Lac tribal leaders, as well as a state archaeologist and state cultural resources staff. MnDOT secured the site and met there with the state archaeologist on Tuesday, when human remains were found on the hillside, Dwyer said. After more archaeological work was completed at the site on Wednesday, the archaeologist requested, in conjunction with tribal leaders, that all work on the entire site stop. Work stopped at the site by 4 p.m. Wednesday, Dwyer said.

Dwyer said MnDOT will continue to work cooperatively with the band.

"We have met again with tribal staff and will have archaeologists and other staff coming to the project to further evaluate the entire site," she said.

She said the band wasn't consulted prior to the Highway 23 project commencing in May. A historical study was completed, but an archaeological study wasn't, and the State Historic Preservation Office signed off on the project, she said. She noted that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does outreach prior to issuing permits for a project like the Highway 23 project. Before work began, four public meetings about the Highway 23 project were held in the Fond du Lac neighborhood and a hearing on the project was held before the Duluth City Council, Dwyer said.

Dupuis said that the band supports projects that address the "serious infrastructure backlog in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin," but projects need to respect the band's historical and ongoing presence in the region and abide by laws governing burial site protections.

MnDOT plans to complete a full archaeological and historical study of the site in collaboration with the band before work recommences, according to the band's statement.

"Those studies were required to be conducted in advance under state and federal law. The band can only speculate about why these critical studies were skipped," Dupuis said. "If MnDOT, the Army Corps and the city had consulted with the band in advance, we could have made sure the studies happened and we could have avoided disturbing the site. We need to work together to make sure this doesn't happen in the future."