It's an abomination!
I just got this from a friend in Oklahoma. It details an event that took place around Thanksgiving 2003. Who could believe that we would do this to ourselves, when we raise so much cain about the Euros who steal our bones and funiary artifacts? Is it alright for the Cherokee Nation government to condone this by inaction, and yet go to war with the Smithsonian Institution? How can the Tribal Council and Chief be any more honorable than the pipeliners and housing developers, who are also raping the graves of the People?
"Sunday morning dawned cold, soggy and cloudy, with temperatures near freezing and a trickle of rain still falling from a heavy, early morning shower.
But poor weather conditions didn't keep a group of 15 protesters from speaking out against the construction of a storage facility on what was once a cemetery for orphaned children.
On a leaf litter lot across from Sequoyah High School, the group gathered to remember the adults and children buried in the lot, and to draw attention to the construction of storage lockers on a burial ground.
The protest was spawned by concerns over additional construction of buildings on the land.
A lone monument stands in the middle of the muddy field, the only indication anyone was buried there. All the headstones were lost over time, along with many records about the burial ground, said John Ketcher.
The 83-year-old Ketcher, a former Cherokee Nation deputy chief and tribal council member, has been researching the cemetery for many years.
"This is where the orphanage buried those who passed away if the families didn't claim them or didn't want them, or who had no family," Ketcher said.
Ketcher remembers seeing the stones and monuments through the trees while playing and hunting as a child, but he didn't really know what it was.
The land wasn't maintained, though, and after a while, the trees and weeds took over and the land was declared surplus. The grave stones and monuments were eventually removed.
"I don't really know what happened to the monuments," Ketcher said.
Eventually the land was sold to a private individuals, and the burial ground was forgotten.
In the early morning light, muffled by the thick, gray, cottony clouds overhead, the protesters gathered in a circle to pray for the children.
Sandra Pallie organized the protest, and as the cold, blustery wind forced her to don gloves and stocking cap, she explained why she was out there.
"There's construction on hallowed ground; there are children buried here," Pallie said. "I don't know that they should be building on this hallowed ground. I think it's a dishonor to build on a grave site, on anybody's gravesite."
She believes she has an aunt buried in the lot, but said her main concern is for the children buried there who cannot speak for themselves.
"These children didn't have any say in this at all," she said. "These were orphans, and they were not given a proper resting place."
Despite her concerns, Pallie doesn't begrudge the landowner for doing what he did. She said he probably didn't know about the burial ground when he bought the land, and was only informed of it later.
"I don't have any grief against the owner," Pallie said. "He's probably just trying to make a living and has mortgages to pay."
Pallie would like to purchase the property and turn it into a monument for the children buried there.
"I would love to raise some money to purchase the land," Pallie said. "I would like to be able to offer the owner a fair price for it."
Following the prayer services, flowered wreaths were placed in the ditch near a white fence, as a memorial for the children. In the distance, the stone monument - the only indication that this land was once a burial ground - sits solitary, surrounded by red, muddy earth.
As the protesters began to disband, ready to get out of the freezing cold wind, one stopped to speak to Pallie.
"Thanks for bringing this to light," he said."
This really sucks, readers.
