In a quiet field beyond a locked chain-link gate not far from Interstate 5 in Salem, Oregon stands a curved, rusty metal sign that says “Chemawa Cemetery.” A thin, rust-colored cross separates the two words, an example of how the Native American spirituality these children were born into—the worlds of their ancestors for tens of thousands of years—was denied to them, even in death.
Hope may be coming for these children and others like them buried in Native American boarding schools around the country. At Carlisle Indian School cemetery, two native American children will disinterred and returned to the Rosebud Sioux—at the U.S. Army’s expense, according to Indian Country Media Today.
Researcher and Native American advocate Marsha Small deserves some credit for this attention to native gravesites. Small, who identifies as Tsististas (Northern Cheyenne), focused her Master’s thesis on the Native American children buried at Chemawa, particularly those in unmarked or mismarked graves. Chemawa’s history is similar to Carlisle’s. About 200 graves are marked at Chemawa, but Small believes more exist. “There are many children in the cemetery, way more than the actual count on the 1960s map,” Small told me.
Calling me by phone from along the McKenzie River in Oregon, Small reminds me of a stern, loving grandmother. In fact, she’d just finished berry picking with her grandson when we talked over the long July 4th weekend. But make no mistake: she’s a formidable voice for Native Americans. She was invited to attend the UN’s 15th session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples, spoke at the International Indigenous Women’s Forum, and secured an adjunct instructor role at Montana State University in Bozeman.
She’s not the only Native American woman making an impact in academia. Paulette Steeves, a Cree-Metis, is now director of the Native American Studies program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. According to the Vancouver Sun, Steeves used an indigenous framework to write and defend her dissertation. Steeves’ research challenges the prevailing theories about the
Native Voices Rising
By JoAnne Dyer