Indigenous Peoples of the United States Cemeteries

There are a variety of cultural burial customs among the American Indian tribes. Some of the tribes bury their dead in caves or ravines, walled in with rocks, some in trees, on a scaffolds or buried in or on the ground. The bodies are tightly wrapped in blankets and shawls. Many of the Indian's personal effects are buried with them or deposited on the grave. Relative bring food for a give number of days and leave it for the departed to subsist upon until he or she completes their journey to the "happy hunting grounds."

States

Provinces of Canada


 * Canada
 * Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan

Online

 * Find a Grave
 * Billion Graves
 * Native American Cemeteries

Suggested Reading
Bushbnell, David I. Native Cemeteries and Forms of Burial East of the Mississippi. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1920.WorldCat

Carmack, Sharon DeBartolo. Your Guide to Cemetery Research. Betterway Books, Cincinnati, OH. 2002. FHL book: 973 V37cs WorldCat

Eastman, Dr. Charles Alexander Eastman. The Soul of the Indian. www.manga.com.au/%7Eprfbrown/easman6.html

Moulton, Candy. Everyday Life Among the American Indians. Cincinnati:Writer's Digest Books, 2001.

Santillanes, Gary F. Releasing the Spirit: A Lesson in Native American Funeral Rituals. Originally published in The Director 69:10 (October 1997): 32, 34.(The Director: members of the state associations affiliated with the National Funeral Directors Association of the United States, Inc. WorldCat)

Yarrow, H.C. North American Indians Burial Customs. Ogden, UT: Eagles' View Publishing, 1988.