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2002
FEBRUARY
Developer disagrees with claim Indian mounds exist
Feb. 15, 2002
By Coty Miranda Garbison
Post-Tribune correspondent
http://www.post-trib.com/cgi-bin/pto-story/news/z1/02-15-02_z1_news_01.html
PORTER TWP. — It was the summer of 1931 when researchers descended upon Kathryn Douglas Cody’s farm, armed with topographic maps, history books and shovels.
The team, headed by University of Michigan archaeologist J. Gilbert McAllister, came to Porter County to survey ancient remains and excavate what remained of ancient Indian burial mounds.
To a little girl, it was a summer of excitement.
To researchers, it was a chance to study history before it slipped away.
Seven decades later, Cody worries the existence of such ancient sites may be threatened forever by developers who want to put a landfill onto 353 acres near her home.
The Department of Natural Resources and the state archaeologist confirmed Monday there are nine documented Indian mounds located on the property.
Owner of the nearby land, LaVonda K. Gottlieb-Gibson, has optioned the property to the Porter Development LLC.
The firm, headed by Chief Executive Officer Richard Counts, is seeking a special exception to build a landfill.
Counts continues to dispute any proof of any Indian mounds on the property.
He also counters that any mounds on the property would have been destroyed by a plow by some of the very farmers who now protest their fate.
Developers say they called the state to stop what they believed to be unlawful trespass on private property when they heard the state archaeologist was making plans to inspect the site.
State law requires that someone who discovers an artifact or burial object stop the activity immediately and to notify the Department of Natural Resources within two business days, though agricultural uses are generally exempt.
The state can then require any further disturbance be conducted in accordance with an approved plan.
The largest mound identified by the McAllister team was the Upp-Wark mound, located on that 353-acre property, formerly owned by the Wark family.
“The Upp-Wark site is the only documented site that has mounds still visible. It’s very unique,” said Mark Shurr, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame, who was part of a University of Notre Dame team that completed a surface assessment of the site in 1998 through a grant from the state’s Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology.
“There appears to be a number of mounds on this site, probably burial mounds,” said Shurr. “They are the largest burial mounds known in Indiana.”
Rick Jones, state archaeologist, also said there is a portion of an ancient Indian village located on the 353 acres, most likely occupied by a prehistoric tribe of the Middle Woodland period, from 200 B.C. to A.D. 400.
“We can tell by the habitation artifacts such as rocks from cooking fires, flint chips from sharpening tools and other little stone tools,” Shurr said.
“The History of Porter County, Indiana,” first published by The Lewis Publishing Co. in 1912, calls the Boone Grove mounds “one of the finest groups of mounds in northern Indiana.”
“At the present time there are eight mounds visible on an area of some 30 acres,” the unnamed author writes, adding the mounds ranged from the largest at 70 feet in diameter and 10 feet high, to six mounds varying from 30 to 60 feet in diameter and from 6 to 8 feet in height.
In the first excavations done at the turn of the 20th century, no human remains were found. However, in the McAllister dig, human skulls and skeletons were uncovered. One such full skeleton is the subject of one of McAllister’s photographs, which was given to Cody’s father and which she still has.
In the years since she first stumbled her way through the excavated dirt clods with her dog Old Joe, Cody has treasured the knowledge they were there.
“I’ve always been proud we have land that the Indians were on.”
The 74-year-old woman and her 79-year-old husband are aghast at the thought of a landfill on the proposed site at County Roads 550S and 250W.
“Our property will be encircled on three sides by the landfill,” she said pointing to a shaded plat map on her dining room table that looks out across shorn cornfields. “I’m devastated.”
She’s also sick about the destruction of the remaining mounds.
While many of the mounds have been excavated, and their contents divided among private and public collections, she believes there is still more history in the ground.
At least one mound on the site, she believes, has never been opened.
And despite years of farming, the Upp-Wark mound still stands as a visible testament to those who came before.
Feb. 15, 2002
"UNEARTHING TROUBLE?
Native Americans assail excavation of historic grave site"
By JOHN W. GONZALEZ
VICTORIA, Texas -- "When workers built the Victoria Barge Canal in the late
1950s, it was duly noted that old human bones and artifacts appeared in the
spoil along the canal banks.
Little did the workers know they had cut a path near one of the oldest
Native American burial grounds in North America, started at least 7,000
years ago and used until 600 years ago.
Dart points and other hand-tooled items uncovered at the site known as
Buckeye Knoll, which overlooks the Guadalupe River, suggest the area was
populated by roaming hunters at least 11,000 years ago.
Yet only in recent months have scientists come to realize the historical and
scientific significance of the site, about eight miles south of Victoria on
land owned by DuPont Co.
And now that the scientists have described their discovery to Native
American tribes, a dispute is erupting over what Native Americans are
portraying as grave desecration. The tribes want research stopped and bones
returned to the site for reinterment.
One tribe, the Alabama-Coushatta of Livingston, said Friday it is drafting a
complaint assailing the actions of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which
investigated the site in preparation for a planned widening of the barge
canal used by DuPont.
"They broke federal law when they went out and started digging these
remains," alleged Walter Celestine, vice chairman of the Alabama-Coushatta's
cultural committee. He's one of several tribe members who recently visited
the dig site and met with officials from the Corps, DuPont and the state.
Aware of the bone and artifact sightings more than 40 years ago, as well as
surveyors' notations about similar sightings in 1982, Corps officials said
they approached the canal widening project with great caution. Corps
officials also insist they followed all applicable laws.
In 2000, the Corps hired consultant Coastal Environments to look for signs
of ancient cultures. It was quickly determined that Buckeye Knoll contained
one of the oldest known graveyards on the continent.
"The Early Archaic cemetery at Buckeye Knoll contains one of three largest
samples of early human remains from North America and represents some 10
percent of all known individuals of this age or older from the continent,"
the Corps reported.
"These materials hold unique potential for understanding early populations
in terms of their health, diet and biological affinity," the Corps said. It
continued: "The quantity and variety of artifacts associated with the Early
Archaic burials are striking and reflect an impressive level of aesthetic
and technical development in material culture on the western Gulf coastal
plain by 7,000 years ago."
About one-fourth of the burial ground was excavated last year. Four of the
burials are believed to be more than 7,000 years old. The remains of as many
as 83 individuals -- many buried with elaborate tool kits and adornments --
were unearthed and moved to the consultant's lab in Corpus Christi.
Tribal representatives recently viewed the remains in Corpus Christi. They
also visited the burial grounds before meeting privately with officials from
the Corps, the Texas Historical Commission, DuPont and others.
Twelve federally recognized tribes were invited to the daylong meeting. Only
the Alabama-Coushattas and Choctaw and Comanche tribes of Oklahoma attended.
"We will continue discussions with all of them," said environmental section
chief Carolyn Murphy of the Corps' Galveston District. She added, "All of
the tribes were in agreement that they wanted to see the human remains
reburied."
Because the site is on private rather than federal land, the Native American
Grave Protection and Repatriation Act, which allows tribes to reclaim
remains and artifacts from burial grounds, doesn't apply, Murphy said.
Instead, officials are following the National Historic Preservation Act of
1966, which requires tribal input based on their religion and culture. Also
being consulted are elected officials, the general public, the Texas
Archaeological Society and the Society for American Archaeology.
"We will make no decision until we have heard all of these different groups
and have taken into consideration the scientific, historical, cultural and
spiritual significance of the site," Murphy said.
Even so, Celestine said his tribe is drafting a complaint to the federal
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, urging scrutiny of the Corps'
actions. While he and other Native Americans are curious about the burial
ground, Celestine said it's a sacred site and only the artifacts should be
studied.
"They took it upon themselves to unearth a lot of remains before they
contacted us," he said. "Instead of following the law, they did whatever
they pleased."
The Corps has spent $900,000 to explore the site, whose precise location
remains undisclosed to the public. About 145 square meters were
hand-excavated on the knoll, exposing three soil layers that revealed
diverse archeological treasures.
The highest stratum produced projectile points and ceramics suggesting
intermittent occupation from about 5,000 to 800 years ago, the Corps said.
Radiocarbon dating of the deepest and oldest burials pushed back the dates
of occupation to between 7,500 and 6,300 years ago.
Among items found amid the burials were stone dart points and blades,
weights, sinkers and flintknapper tool kits. Aesthetic items included
perforated canine teeth; pendants made from freshwater mussel and clam
shells; shell beads, red and yellow ochre and asphaltum, a natural tar that
was shaped into vessels predating pottery.
DuPont spokesman Amy Hodges said no decisions have been made and the
dialogue among interested parties has just begun. Hodges said it's up to the
state and the Corps of Engineers to determine how to proceed. Regardless,
she said, DuPont, as property owner, is legally the site's steward."
Copyright 2002, The Houston Chronicle
Online story at Oregonian
Thursday, February 14, 2002
"Reward Offered in American Indian Grave Desecrations"
YAKIMA, Washington -- "A $1,000 reward is being offered for information
leading to the arrest and conviction of people thought to have been digging
up bones at a Native American burial site in the Columbia River Gorge.
Investigators found human bones in a hole and two rocks that had been used
to grind the remains into a powder at the unmarked site near Wishram, on the
Washington side of the river, said Officer Lori Watlamet of the Columbia
River Inter-Tribal Fisheries Enforcement agency.
"It was very disturbing to me," Watlamet said Wednesday.
She didn't know why anyone would grind up the bones, but she said she has
heard some "really sick stories" about people who think ingesting the powder
can give them special powers.
"I never thought I'd come across it," she said.
The burial site is unmarked and probably prehistoric, on private property
east of The Dalles Dam, she said.
The desecration was reported last week, although it happened about the end
of January. Two non-Native American women were seen digging in the area.
Native American archaeological, cultural and burial sites have been heavily
looted during the years in the Wishram area, Watlamet said.
"People that were raised there before the dams were put in, it was a family
pastime to dig up artifacts and dig up whatever they could find," Watlamet
said. "People in that area are more than aware of what's out there."
The reward is being offered through the Bonneville Power Administration's
crime witness program in cooperation with Wana Pa Koot Koot, or "Those Who
Work Together on the River," which promotes cooperation among federal and
tribal agencies on the river.
The Columbia River Gorge is rich in history. Archaeological evidence
indicates people have lived in the area for 10,000 years, including
ancestors of the Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla and Nez Price tribes.
For centuries, the area around Wishram was a trading site for Native
Americans from all over the Northwest. Nearby Celilo Falls, which was
destroyed by the construction of The Dalles Dam in 1957, was a traditional
Native American fishing site.
Tribal, federal and state laws protect the cultural resources of the
Columbia River. Digging at a burial site is a felony under Washington law,
Watlamet said.
The Klickitat County Sheriff's Office is investigating the case with the
intertribal agency. The agency is asking for the public's help in finding
whoever desecrated the site. The hot line to report suspicious activity is
800-487-FISH."
Thank you Ravenwolf
Indian burial grounds located on site for landfill
Feb. 8, 2002
By Coty Miranda Garbison / Post-Tribune correspondent
http://www.post-trib.com/cgi-bin/pto-story/news/z1/02-08-02_z1_news_03.html
PORTER TWP. - Long before farmers of European descent plowed the Porter Township fields, American Indians buried their dead - and their debris - in earthen mounds.
Several such sites, easily overlooked by the untrained eye, have long been part of local lore and serious study.
According to Ronald Yanke, Valparaiso University geography professor and head of Indian Studies, mounds in northern Porter County date from 1700 to 1830, though closer to the Kankakee River others known as Mississippi Mounds date from 5000 to 1400 B.C.
Early Porter County settlers identified 200 mounds, by 1900 only 72 were counted, and by 1932 only 17 remained, according to research by Valparaiso mound authority and lecturer Joan Lane.
Thursday, neighbors watched in dismay as a backhoe pulled up and began to dig near what they say is one such mound on a 353-acre parcel proposed for a landfill near County Roads 550S and 250W.
But Richard Counts, chief executive officer of the Chesterton-based Porter Development LLC, says neighbors are worrying needlessly.
Counts, who spoke to the Post-Tribune from the office of his attorney, Todd Leeth, said he doesn't believe there are any American Indian mounds on the property.
"There aren't any mounds - there are hills, undulations and rises in the land. ... They aren't marked in any way. If there's concern now over the mounds, why weren't they (residents) concerned when they were farming it?"
Thursday, a backhoe from the Valparaiso-based JR Burrus Excavators assisted Columbus-based Regional Services Corp. in gathering preliminary soil samples from 10 sites on the property.
At one point, two DNR trucks approached the workers, and according to state DNR spokesman Stephen Sellers, told the men, including Counts, that the area contained known archeological sites and advised them of the laws governing burial grounds.
"There are a series of mounds in that area, and one - the Upp-Wark Mound - has been inspected and documented," said Sellers. "Our department received a call from a concerned citizen about the digging in that area, and two officers responded."
Counts said the two DNR officers were not in uniform and would not immediately show their identification until "pressed." He did say they both arrived in marked DNR trucks, but said he knew them both to be local residents who opposed the landfill.
David Stanley, who has lived in Boone Grove for more than seven decades, was one of a dozen residents watching from County Road 250W as the backhoe crossed in front of what they said was one of the larger American Indian mounds.
Stanley, 79, said he knows of six mounds in the Boone Grove area, four of which he says are on the proposed landfill site. Among his fondest childhood memories were the times he explored the mounds, as did his children.
On Thursday afternoon three generations of the Stanley family stood with a group of neighbors on the side of the road shaking their heads and voicing disbelief, frustration and sorrow as, beyond one of the larger mounds still visible for the road, the arm of a yellow backhoe scraped across the earth.
"How can this be happening when it hasn't even gone before BZA?" asked Glen Stanley, one of four grandsons standing beside his grandparents, David and Leeanna Stanley.
The county Board of Zoning Appeals is set to hear a request by Porter Development LLC for a special exception to build the garbage landfill on land currently zoned, and used, for agriculture at 6 p.m. Feb. 27.
The hearing was delayed a week so a larger site could be found to accommodate what is expected to be a legion of opponents to the landfill.
Residents mobilized quickly last weekend upon learning of the proposal. More than 65 people attended an organizational meeting last Monday night in a private home. They will have their second meeting at 7 p.m. Monday in Boone Grove Elementary School.
Lane, who lectured on American Indian mounds in the 1990s, said her research showed that at one time there were four in a row above Wolf Creek, a Kankakee River tributary that runs through the proposed landfill.
The possible contamination of that creek is another source of contention for Porter Township residents.
"If contaminants get into Wolf Creek, that runs all the way to the Kankakee River, we're talking 20 to 30 miles of farms that are going to be affected," said Glen Stanley.
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