From;Tom Kunesh -- BURIAL GROUND DESECRATIONS,ETC.

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Date Posted: 13:16:37 04/02/01 Mon
Author: Sacred Heart
Subject: From;Tom Kunesh

> From Tom Kunesh, via the TN Affairs List:
> (Carl "Two Feathers [Short]" forgets his place as a non-enrolled person)
> ------------------------------
> Private meeting on archaeological dig upsets Native Americans
> 2001-03-24 by Iva Butler of The Daily Times Staff
> An unannounced consultation meeting was held Thursday to work out a
> memorandum of agreement on treatment of the graves found at the
> archaeological dig where East Lamar Alexander Parkway (U.S. 321) is
> being widened in Townsend.
> The private meeting has upset some Native Americans, and they are
> planning a protest Sunday.
> Present for the meeting at the Townsend Visitors Center were a dozen
> people, including Mark Doctor of the Federal Highway Administration
> (FHWA), Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) officials, Laura
> Dean of the National Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, James
> Bird, Brett Riggs and other representatives of the Eastern Band of the
> Cherokee, TDOT archaeologist Gerald Kline, Charles "Chuck'' Bentz of the
> University of Tennessee Center for Transportation Research (the group
> TDOT hired to do the dig) and Herb Handly of Smoky Mountains Convention
> and Visitors Bureau.
> Carl "Two Feathers'' Whitaker, chief representative of the Native
> American Indian Movement (NAIM), said he is "extremely upset'' his group
> was not notified and included in the talks.
> It had earlier been announced that there will be an April 4 consultation
> meeting in Townsend, but Thursday's meeting was not announced.
> "It was very sneaky for them to do this,'' Whitaker said. He said state
> officials lied by telling him there would be no meeting before April 4.
> "Obviously they didn't want the news media or us to know about this
> meeting,'' Whitaker said.
> He said he is organizing a protest for noon Sunday at the picnic area
> across from the Apple Barn on East Lamar Alexander Parkway in Townsend.
> He said the main focus of the protest will be to criticize FHWA, the
> group that conducts consultation meetings between the governmental
> entities and the recognized tribes, and TDOT.
> Fourth memorandum
> When contacted following the meeting, the FHWA's Dean said the group
> went over the memorandum of agreement (MOA) that must be written to
> specify what will be done with the graves. This was the third memorandum
> that TDOT has written.
> Dean had input into the third draft, and a fourth revised memorandum
> will be going out to the involved parties soon. That will be discussed
> at the April 4 consultation meeting.
> Bentz said the preferred treatment of the graves is total avoidance,
> which would require moving the road and not going over the burial sites
> at all. If that is not possible, the second preference is encapsulating
> the graves and leaving them in place. The third and least preferred
> choice is to move the graves.
> "I would assume that moving graves would require consultation with the
> Eastern Band on a case-by-case basis,'' Bentz said.
> FHWA and TDOT would have to prove that moving graves was the only
> solution, citing reasons such as traffic safety.
> 70 grave sites found
> Thus far 70 graves, 25 of which are cremations, have been discovered.
> Once found, archaeologists fill the graves back in and notify FHWA where
> they are located. The memorandum discussed Thursday defines the way the
> graves will be treated.
> "TDOT is going to put forth as much effort as possible to preserve the
> remains in place,'' Dean said. "Otherwise, the Cherokee will be directly
> involved if that can't happen.''
> "The site is just spectacular,'' said Dean, an archaeologist. "I've
> never had the opportunity to work on sites like that in the U.S. I've
> worked on them in Mexico. They're just a jewel for the community.
> "The whole area of Tuckaleechee Cove has historic sites, as well. If
> this has done nothing but educate the community about the heritage, it's
> served its purpose. The community shouldn't let it drop. They should
> protect that heritage and not just leave it to chance or federal law to
> protect it. Otherwise they'll look up and it will be gone.''
> One area of contention between NAIM and the Eastern Band is that
> Whitaker and NAIM want to hold a seven-day ceremony once the issue of
> the graves is decided -- praying over each single grave and keeping a
> spirit fire lit for the entire week.
> Apparently, the Cherokee would prefer to have members of a religious
> society come in and conduct a ceremony in secret, keeping it totally
> private.

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