Thomas,+Jessica,+and+Brittany+Burial+Rituals

= Native American Burial Traditions =

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People have always been obsessed with death. Today, Native Americans use modern burial techniques (caskets, cremation, etc.) to bury their loved ones. All cultures have their own ceremonies and/or rituals for death. Native Americans have a wide variety of these rituals. ======

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__ Winnebago __

They often put provisions, a pitcher of water, and some cooking utensils on the grave for the use of the spirit. At the time of the burial they often put new clothing and ornaments on the corpse, if they are able, and place by its side such things as they think necessary. They are generally careful for a year or so, to keep down all the weeds and grass about the grave, perhaps for 10 feet around.

There appear to have been two distinct methods of burial among the Winnebago- simple inhumation and platform burial. The graves were in later times protected by logs, stones, brush, or pickets.

__ Chippewa __

A Canadian Chippewa said that when a death occurred they often buried the body inside the wigwam then took down the wigwam. He said that if the burial were to be outside a tipi they took down the poles and threw them aside. These poles were never used again. They used to be buried in a sitting posture. They now bury in coffins with the heads to the west.

Chippewa graves are deeper than other Native tribes, theirs being 6-8 feet deep whereas others, such as the Dakotas, made shallow graves.

__ Sauk __

Burial took place after various rituals had been performed. Warriors might be buried in a sitting position. All people were buried in their finest clothing and wrapped in bark or mats with their feet toward the west. Sacred tobacco was placed on the grave. A dog might be killed as a companion on the way to the land of the dead. The mourning period lasted for at least six months, during which time mourners were subject to a variety of behavioral restrictions. Following the burial, a house-like structure is built over the grave to harbor the spirit until it moves on to the next world. A fire is then built outside the house and loved ones prepare the deceased's favorite food. They throw the food into the fire to nourish the spirit.

__ Sioux __

The Sioux took the position that death will occur to all regardless of one’s achievements, fame, wisdom, bravery, or whatever and that the mortuary practices allowed the living a way of showing their reverent respect for the dead. If the deceased was a young person, and particularly a child, the mourners would gash their arms and legs and engage in ritual crying. When death occurred in the home the burial would be delayed for a day and a half in the hopes that the deceased would be revived.

__ Ojibwa __

Upon death the corpse was washed, groomed, dressed in fine clothing, and wrapped in birchbark before burial in a shallow grave. Following death, the soul of the deceased was believed to journey westward for four days to an afterlife in the sky. The funeral ceremony was attended by friends and relatives and was conducted by a Mide priest, who talked to the deceased and offered tobacco to the spirits. After the ceremony was concluded the body was removed through a hole in the west side of the wigwam to the grave site, where it was buried along with personal possessions. The door of the wigwam was not used when removing the deceased for fear that the departed soul would return through the door.

// **FUN FACT** // The Dakota were the last to use burial mounds in Wisconsin, and may have been the only Native Americans to use mounds for burial.

__ Potawatomi __

In the case of murder of a Potawatomi by one of another tribe, the Indian law compels the offending tribe to bring the murderer bound to a council of the Potawatomi. Then a talk is commenced to buy the life of the murderer by an offer of ponies, whiskey, and bows. If no bargain can be concluded the Potawatomi hit the victim on the head and kill him. If the offending tribe are not able to meet the demands and pay for the life of their tribesman he can go free, but with notice to remain out of their tribal territory. Babies and youngsters wore moccasins with holes cut into them so that the baby’s pure yet vulnerable spirit might not be lured away before its time by affectionate diseased relatives.

Works Cited: Birmingham, Robert A. and Eisenberg, Leslie E. //Indian Mounds of Wisconsin.// Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press. Print.

Brown, Charles Edward. “The Wisconsin Archeologist”. The Wisconsin Archeologist. Volume 19. 1920.Print.

Bryant, Clifton D. __Handbook of Death and Dying: Volume 1.__ California: Sage Publications Inc. 2003. Print.

Bushnell, David I. Jr. __Native__ __Cemeteries and Forms of Burial East of the Mississippi.__ Washington: Government Printing Office. 1920. Print.

Densmore, Frances. __Chippewa Customs.__ Washington: Smithsonian Institution. 1929. Print.

Godfrey, Linda S., and Moran, Mark, and Hendricks, Richard D., and Sceurman, Mark. __Weird Wisconsin.__ New York: Barnes and Noble Publishing. 2005. Print.

Leary, James P. __Wisconsin Folklore__. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press. 1998. Print.

Morgan, Lewis Henry. __The Indian Journals 1859-62.__ Canada: General Publishing Company. 1959. Print.

Powell, J.W. //Annual Report to the Bureau of American Ethnology to the... Smithsonian Institute. Bureau of American Ethnology.// Washington: Government Printing Office. 1894. Print.

Pritzker, Barry M. __Native Americans: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Peoples.__ Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO Inc. 1998. Print.

Radin, Paul. __The Winnebago Tribe.__ Washington: First Bison Book. 1990. Print.

Wisconsin Natural History Society. “The Wisconsin Archeologist”. The Wisconsin Archeologist. Volume 1. 1902. Print.

__Access Genealogy.__ Webified Development.1999-2010. May 8, 2011. Web. []

__Chiefs.__ Galafilm Productions. May 8, 2011. Web. [] __Countries and Their Cultures. __ Unknown. May 8, 2011. Web. []