Pioneer Receives Proper Burial
Local News
by
Kyle Horan
last edited on
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
In 2006, workers dismantling a retaining wall in Deadwood stumbled upon the remains of a human, one of Deadwood’s original inhabitants.
Four years later, the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission reburied the corpse into another grave.
Authorities buried the remains of the Deadwood ancestor in the Mt. Moriah Cemetery Wednesday.
The cemetery is close to where the remains were originally found.
The remains were either of Chinese or Native American descent.
A joint ceremony was held for the pioneer, lead by a Catholic priest, a Taoist master, and a Lakota holy man bringing out a very diverse crowd.
Officials for the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission say it's a very unique situation.
“I know it hasn't happened in Deadwood. I don't think it has happened in South Dakota or the United States," says preservation officer Kevin Kuchenbecker.
The man is thought to have been originally buried in the mid-to-late 1800’s.