Wednesday, August 28, 2019

After researching the discovering and unearthing of Native American remains on Harpeth Hall's campus, I understood why Harpeth Hall removed the remains from their initial burial locations. With on going construction in place, I found it respectful to rebury the remains in a separate, peaceful location. However, I was shocked that the ceremony was restricted to Cherokee Indians and little representation of the Harpeth Hall community. What further upset me was that Ann Teaff was told it would be inappropriate to mark the new grave sight of the deceased which is outside of the library. I find it disrespectful to not honor the dead and leave their graves unmarked, students are disturbing the deceaseds' peace without even knowing it. After uncovering the history of the Native American remains on campus, I felt guilty for having walked on graves, despite having no knowledge of their existence. I wonder if the Harpeth Hall community would be more open to having a marking for the gravesite now or at least a piece of artwork with a paragraph explaining the unearthing in order to honor the memory of the Native Americans. I now feel like it is my responsibility to pass this knowledge to other students and hopefully it opens up the conversation in other classrooms. 

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