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American Pioneer
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NATIVE AMERICAN AND SPANISH GRAVES IN ARIZONA
By
Kathy Block
Grave of 8 people along the
Devil's Highway, AZ.
The
above 1971 photo, of a grave for eight people along the El Camino del Diablo
(Devil's Highway), sparked interest in researching information about Native
American and Spanish graves in Arizona.
In
various anthropological and archeological writings there is much information
about the burial customs of Native American tribes in Arizona, clues to what
possible grave sites might look like, and where they could be found. Practices
in different cultural periods varied from cremation, to burial in the ground,
caves, or pueblo sites.
“Indian Princess” Skeleton
Displays
of skeletal remains and objects found with them in Native American graves used
to be fairly widespread in museums, visitor centers at national parks and
monuments in the Southwest. (The “Indian Princess” with her jewelry and objects found in her
grave was photographed in 1982 at the Anasazi Indian
Village State Historical Monument near Capitol Reef, Utah.)
Archeological excavations of prehistoric sites, notably in areas around Apache
County, Maricopa County, and southern Arizona yielded skeletons and artifacts
that were then deposited in many museums, especially during the 1950s and
1960s. Some two million remains of Native Americans are estimated to be
currently held in museums, government agencies, and private collections –
nearly as many as the population of Native people alive today, according to a
1998 Internet publication, “Coming Home-the Return of the Ancestors” by Claire
Ferrell. In 1868 the taking of Indian
body parts became official federal policy with the Surgeon General's order.
These remains, mostly 4000 heads taken from battlefields, burial grounds, etc,
were sent to various institutions for study. The Smithsonian had a collection
of almost 18,500 “ancestral remains.” Ferrell claims that the desecration of
Native American graves began with the landing of the very first Pilgrim exploring
party, which dug up a grave in 1620 and robbed it of its burial goods! (I was
unable to verify this claim.)
At
present, although U.S. Law and 43 states have laws protecting unmarked burials
and grave sites, removal of remains is still allowed for highway expansion,
golf courses, recreation areas, and from private lands, usually for reburial
elsewhere. Native Americans weren't legally declared “persons” until 1879, and
not granted citizenship until 1924, so were unable to protest grave site excavation
and desecration. To assist in somewhat rectifying past practices and provide
for respectful treatment of Native American graves today and in the future, the
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act was passed in 1990. One
of the sponsors was Arizona's Senator John McCain.
Very
briefly, this act directs museums and other institutions to: (1) Increase
protection for Native American graves and provide for the disposition of
culturally affiliated remains inadvertently discovered on tribal and federal
lands; (2) Prohibit traffic in Native American ancestral remains; (3) Require
federal museums and institutions to inventory their collection of Native
American ancestral remains and burial goods within five years and repatriate
them to culturally affiliated tribes upon request; and (4) Require museums to
provide summaries of their collections of Native American sacred objects and
cultural patrimony within three years and repatriate them if it is demonstrated
that the museum does not have the right of possession.
On the
Internet there are now numerous Federal Register notices under “Native American
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act”. These notices list objects and remains
found in various archeological sites and tribes that might be eligible to
receive them. The notice gives details of when and where they were taken, what
their archeological and anthropological characteristics suggest for cultural
group of origin, and what present day Native American tribes were notified to
meet and discuss possible repatriation of these items. Here's a typical
example, edited for length.
Federal
Register.
Vol.73, No.46, Thursday, March 6, 2008. Notices. “In 1964, human remains representing a minimum of
14 individuals were removed from the Fortified Hill Site, Maricopa County, AZ, during legally authorized excavations conducted by the
Univ. of AZ . . . the human remains were accessioned into the collection of the
Arizona State Museum in 1964.
No
known individuals were identified. (There were 734 associated funerary objects
listed, including bones, beads, ceramic bowls and jars, shells, crystals,
textile fragments, projectile points, and one wood artifact.) “The ceramic
assemblage at the Fortified Hill Site suggests Archeological tradition . . . an
occupation between AD 1200 - 1273. Characteristics of
the mortuary program including cremation, placement within a ceramic vessel,
and the types of associated objects, are also consistent with the Hohokam Archeological traditions. The human remains are determined to be Native
American based on the archeological context . . . ” (Eventually
the museum staff met with representatives of the AkChin
Indian Community of the Maricopa Indian Reservation and other Native American
tribes to determine repatriation of return of the bones and artifacts to a
tribe or tribes.)
There
has been considerable controversy over meeting provisions of the Act. What
should be returned and what can be kept for scientific study? Who should
receive the objects and remains? Native Americans have gone to museums and
demanded return of “sacred objects”, and private collectors and dealers have
been scrutinized, as in a recent case involving 28 people arrested in the
southwest for artifact theft, etc. The on-going struggles, for example, over
the Kennewick Man's remains, found along the Columbia River in Washington State
in 1996, are discussed in several books. One, Ancient Encounters: Kennewick
Man and the First Americans by James C. Chatters, Simon & Schuster,
2001, explores this controversy. As one of the forensic anthropologists working
to study these remains, he has found strong evidence the remains are not Native
American. Despite this, tribes are fighting to reclaim them. One statement he
makes is:
“As strongly as I believe that it is
morally wrong to excavate recent (as in 1,000 to 2,000 years old), American
Indian graves or to keep them in museums without the consent and participation
of their cultural next of kin, I believe it is immoral to turn the bones of the
most ancient Americans over to modern tribes, who have expressed an intent to
bury them without learning what stories they have to tell about themselves and
their time.” (Page 269).
American Indian Graves, Happy
Camp. CA
Reading
the Federal Register notices offers clues to various burial practices and where
graves were found. Especially in Apache County and areas where Native Americans
were most established in prehistoric and more historic eras, as along the Gila
and Salt Rivers, remains were found buried under piles of stone or mounds, or
sometimes in caves (a famous site was Ventana Cave in
Pima County). In the case of cremations ashes were often placed in containers
and buried near villages or homes, with special objects (such as those listed
above from the Fortified Hill Site). Some cultures had cremations and
inhumations (intact burials) grouped in areas that appeared to have been used
for burial purposes only. There were various developmental periods of Hohokam cultures, with characteristic burials in each.
Details can easily be found in anthropological and archeological texts, and
won't be elaborated upon here. A modern-day person who
finds piles of stones suggesting graves, or objects in a remote cave, may
reasonably assume there may be a Native American grave site, if in an area
known to have been occupied by Native Americans. A rough indicator of age is the fact that in
prehistoric times the graves were generally placed without regard to uniformity
of direction. When uniformity is found, it is generally an indication of
comparatively modern internments.
Burial
practices varied greatly in the Southwest from tribe to tribe. The Apaches, for
example, had elaborate rituals. A book on the Internet, “Life Among the Apaches as Observed by John C. Cremory,
1868,” gave his observations. Briefly, Apaches at that time abhorred cremation.
They generally buried their dead at night, with stones on the grave to prevent
wolves and coyotes from digging them up. The burial was as far away as possible
from the village, either in a hole in the ground or rock crevice. They feared ghosts of the dead, and burned or
destroyed personal belongings of the dead or placed them in the grave, to
prevent “strange disease” (maybe smallpox?) They would never approach graves,
and anyone who did was considered a witch! The wickiup
was also burned, as nobody would live in it again. The Yavapai had similar
beliefs at this time. The Yuma on the
Colorado River practiced cremation. A jet boat tour guide told us that all
belongings were also destroyed so that, according to him, there would be no
inheritance conflicts!
Burial cave near Globe, Arizona.
A
cautionary tale here! A friend and another man found this remote cave on the
east side of Roosevelt Lake, near Globe, Arizona. The other man removed a
basket with a mummified baby in it, woven fiber sandals, pottery, etc.
Eventually he was caught and received heavy fines and some prison time! Our
friend had to testify against him. A sad situation.
Moral: Don't disturb any graves or artifacts you may find! There is also a
Federal Antiquities Law that may be enforced for removing objects over 50 years
old. This sign, found at the site of Signal, Arizona, is typical.
Sign at Signal
Native
Americans may sometimes remove remains from graves. A site, Native
American Netroots. Net. claims that the remains of Geronimo (referred to as Goyathlay) were secretly removed to Arizona after he died
of pneumonia in Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1918. A Native American wrote on this
site:
An elder told me that the Navajo took
Geronimo's bones
and gave them a
proper burial place before the U.S. Army
only thought that
he remained buried at Fort Sill after
they buried him
there. I told her I had been to the grave
site. She asked
me, “Did it feel like he was in there?” “No,”
I said. “They 'buried' him in the grave
stone by stone, so
he wouldn't ever
come back.” she said. I personally don't
believe he is at
Fort Sill, and I don't believe this either.
A later
note states:
A look around the cemetery reveals the
possibility of that
being true, due
to the remoteness and seclusion of the area.
Note that there was probably more tree
cover nearly a
century ago.
A legend still persists that not long
afterward (his death) his
bones were
secretly removed and taken somewhere to the
Southwest. (From Dee Brown, Bury my Heart at Wounded
Knee, page 412.)
Most
Native American graves and Spanish graves of the 19th century on
into the present are found in cemeteries. A count on the Find-A-Grave site
showed at least 91 cemeteries scattered thru all the Arizona counties with
names that suggested Native American or Spanish use. Examples are: Navajo
Family Burial Cemetery in Cochise County; Hopi Indian Cemetery at Tuba City in Cococino County; Bighorse Family
Plot in Graham County; The Mexicano Cemetery in
Clifton, Greenlee County, which had five graves, all of which were infants; The
PeePosh cemetery in Maricopa County; and two Piute
Tribal Cemeteries in Mohave County at Kaibab and Moccasin.
Single grave at Happy Camp, CA
Here is
one Native American grave and a few others in a small, rundown cemetery at
Ferry Point, west of Happy Camp in Northern California. There is a road to the
Klamath River and Ferry Bar from the bluff where these graves are located.
Notice the turquoise bracelet and pile of rope by the grave of a 25-year-old
man who died in 1993. Was he a cowhand? A rodeo rider?
A feather (possibly eagle) hung on a branch above. This appears to be a family
cemetery, with many unmarked graves. A sign asks people to be “respectful of
the graves”, but a sagging iron fence with a gate hanging on one hinge encloses
the area. There are signs of vandalism, maybe from people or from bears (which
frequent this area). The Karouk tribe,
who live near Happy Camp, close this site and a stretch of river below every
August for ceremonies.
Typical mission church with
cemetery, 1778
Historically,
Native Americans and Spanish immigrants often intermarried, as people migrated
northward from Mexico and Central America.
The Pascuayaqui Tribe, of southern Arizona and
northern Sonora, Mexico has an intriguing project, called Mission 2000, thru Tumacacori National Historic Park. An accessible data base from Spanish mission
records of baptisms, marriages, and burials from the late 17th to
mid-19th centuries has been computerized. As of May 2005 it
contained nearly 8,090 events, over 22,031 people and their known information.
The ethnicity of names include various Native American
tribes such as O'odham, Yaqui, Apache, Seri, Opata,
Yuma, Mexican, Spanish, and various other European groups. This site gives an interesting version of how
“Arizona” got its name. A Yaqui prospector living in 1736 at Agua Caliente
discovered some extremely large pieces of nearly pure silver in the mountains
about half way between there and Nogales, Arizona. The discovery, known as “Planchas de Plata Canyon” became associated with a nearby
ranch called.....”Arizona”!!!
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Cemetery at Tumacacori
There
are a few descriptions of cemeteries on the Internet that mention cemeteries at
the Spanish missions, which were established by Spanish Franciscan priests and
missionaries throughout the southwest to convert the Indians to Christianity,
and turn them into “productive” Spanish subjects whose toil would enrich and
enlarge the Spanish Empire. Indian neophytes were instructed in Catholicism,
the Spanish language and customs, farming, and simple handicrafts. In spite of
resistance and shirking of work, runaways, and even revolts, missionaries
created cohesive, self-supporting communities in the late 1700s.
An
account.
“The Early Spanish Missionaries”, The Resources of Arizona by Patrick
Hamilton, published in 1881 in Prescott, “under the authority of the
legislature” mentions San Xavier de Bac, nine miles
south of Tucson. He wrote that on the west side of the church was an enclosure
and a small chapel, which was formerly used as a cemetery. Bodies were kept in the chapel until the
ceremony of burial was performed. This
was the most important mission in the Territory, established in 1694. Papago Indians who resided at the mission preserved it from
destruction by Apaches in 1827.
Tumacacori National Historic Park is three
miles below Tubac on the Santa Cruz River. The
original mission was destroyed by the Apaches in 1826 and the occupants
massacred. Much has now been restored.
The above photos show the Soto marker, which identifies several graves
belonging to members of a family who lived at Tumacacori
in early 1900. The marked graves in this cemetery are from the late 19th
and early 20th centuries. Evidence of mission-era graves was
destroyed long ago by “weather, treasure hunters, and cattle.” Toward the end of the 19th century
the cemetery was used as a corral during cattle drives and roundups! Families
who moved into the area around 1900 knew it was holy ground, “campo santo” , and used it again as a
cemetery. The last burial was Juanita Alegria in 1916
- the only one that has been identified. Dead from the mission era are also
here. Between 1746 and 1825, there were 637 burials recorded. Forty-two burials
were registered by Father Ramon Libeross between 1822
and 1825 in the “new cemetery”. Record of a Pima child, named Maria Teresa
Gonzalez, age five, was the first. This shows use by Native Americans of
mission cemeteries. Some of the dead were killed by Apache raids or smallpox
and measles epidemics. Records from 1826 to 1848 when Tumacacori
was abandoned have never been found!
One
final mission is Mission San Augustin, a site known
as Tucson's birthplace, which is being restored. The project is heavily
dependent not just on archeological finds, photographs and documents, but also
on conjecture. The mission was built in the 1770s and had a convento,
two cemeteries, a granary, and other smaller structures contained in a compound
wall. The site had a much earlier history. Archeologists uncovered American
Indian pit houses, storage pits, and other features that date to 4000 years
ago. The site was already deteriorating by 1798 and a small section of the convento wall was all that was left by the 1950s. About
two-thirds of the mission site west of the Santa Cruz River at the base of “A”
Mountain was destroyed more than 30 years ago by a clay-mining plant and city
landfill. An 1874 photo showed only the outside of the two-story convento. Were the two cemeteries destroyed by the clay
mine and city landfill?
Gravestone at Laguna Cemetery,
Yuma County, Arizona.
My
write up on Laguna Cemetery on the APCRP website has photos of graves
that are probably Hispanic. In some early Hispanic or
Mexican cemeteries, from the late 1890s and later, tombstones often have
genealogy of the deceased engraved on them, so that the person's family names, etc, would be
preserved in the event that records were lost. An example of this practice is
shown above. This type of grave marker is seen in many Mexican or Hispanic
burials throughout the Southwest.
In
summary, Native American graves, particularly from prehistoric and historic
areas, have been excavated and studied mostly in the middle of the last
century. There is now a process to return artifacts and skeletal remains to
descendents or tribes of the persons buried in them. It is a crime under State
and Federal Law to disturb or desecrate Native American graves, as well as any
other graves one may find. Responsible people, such as APCRP members, often
photograph, research, and sometimes even restore grave sites for future
generations to ponder, as we all know. Certainly the small portion of the
public that vandalizes and desecrates Native American or other graves in search
of artifacts will continue to be prosecuted.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The information
in this article was obtained from:
Chatters,
James C. Ancient Encounters: Kennewick Man and the First Americans.
N.Y. Simon & Schuster, 2001. p.
268.
Cremony, John C. “Apache Burial
Customs,” Life Among the Apaches, as observed
by John c. Cremony, ca. 1862. History book on Internet.
Federal
Register,
Vol.73, No.45, Thursday, March 6, 2008. Notices. Internet.
Ferrell,
Clare. “Coming Home – the Returne of the Ancestors,” Native
Chicago, 1998. Internet article.
Hall,
Allan. Note with information about Snaketown and
other burial sites. October 5, 2009.
Hamilton,
Patrick. “The Early Spanish Missionaries,” The Resources
of Arizona, Prescott, 1881. Internet book.
Handbook
of American Indians North of Mexico.
Vol.1 and II, 1907, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.
Reader's
Digest. “A
Day at Mission San Jose,” Story of the Great American West.
Reader's Digest, Pleasantville, N.Y. c.1977. 3rd
Printing, 1987. p.114.
Stauffer,
Thomas. “Rebuilding Convento is no Easy Task,” Arizona
Daily Star, May 24, 2002. Internet article.
Tumacacori National Historical Park. “Articles of
Historic Interest-Mission 2000.” 2005. Internet article.
Tumacacori National Historical Park. “Mortuary
Chapel and Cemetery.” Internet article.
Winter
Rabbit. “The Spirit of Goyathlay
(Geronimo).” Native American Netroots. Dec.20,
2008. Internet
article.
American Pioneer
& Cemetery Research
Project
Internet Publication
Version
101909-KB
WebMaster: Neal
Du Shane
Copyright © 2009
Neal Du Shane
All rights reserved. Information contained within this
website may be used
for personal family history purposes, but not for financial profit or gain.
All contents of this website are willed to the American Pioneer & Cemetery
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