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http://www.nbc-2.com/story/34547761/tenn-construction-crew-unearths-1000-year-old-native-american-graves

The news article I found titled "Tenn. construction crew unearths 1,000 year old Native American graves" describes how in Tennessee Native American graves were uncovered and how the plan is to build a commercial office there and remove the graves. It is causing a lot of controversy as activists and Native Americans do not want the 40 (something) graves removed as they express no matter what race you are, no one would want these graves moved from this sacred site. The article also explains that because of Tennessee law, "developers have the right to move the graves because they couldn't find any blood relatives." This article resonated with me as just as the article states, no matter who you are, removing graves of your ancestors is not something anyone would want done. This is where they have been buried with one another and disturbing this would be uncomfortable and ignorant. This article makes me think about the text "House Made of Dawn" by Momaday where he shows the Natives connection to the land, their ancestors, and the importance of keeping balance and harmony within their life. By getting rid of these graves it would be disturbing a lot more then the construction workers realize. Abel and his connection to his grandfather and the land are ultimately what allows him to find a spiritual path in life. These strong Native American themes present in the novel speak to Abel and his culture, but the news article should speak to those who seem indifferent in removing the graves and building over it. It is one thing to remove graves and find another location to put them, but to build something as insignificant as a "commercial office building" is a slap in the face to any race, religion, or culture where their ancestors lay. It should not matter that Tennessee has found no "blood relatives" as they are 1,000 year old Native American graves, it should only matter that these are still people who have been buried somewhere for a reason.

You have made a lot of great points. It is insane to think that anyone can just dig up the graves and build whatever they want on top of the land! Like we learned in "House Made of Dawn" the land is an extremely important aspect of Native American lifestyle. Native American's take pride in the land and it is a big part of their culture, as we saw with Abel and his grandfather. They connect their lives with the land and they treat the land with so much love and respect, and to think that people are going to exhume their bodies is very disturbing. It is wrong for anyone of any race to have to worry about their grave being dug up and essentially 'thrown out' in order to make room for industrial and commercial buildings, when you lay your family members to rest for eternity, it should be for eternity. These people felt so connected to the land that they obviously wanted to be buried within it and to even think about disrespecting their wishes is disgraceful. Whether these people are Native American or not, this would be very wrong because when you bury a family member it never 'expires' and that is essentially what this company is saying by wanting to build on top of the graves. I really hope that this doesn't actually happen because it would be very disappointing for the Native American community (because of the fact that there is nothing they can do because there are no 'blood relatives') but also for everyone no matter what race because it will cause a lot of concern for future burials in fear that this might happen to them or their family members.