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Last Rites for Indian Dead

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Submitted By ronginah
Words 939
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Evaluation Rough Draft
2 August 2012
Last Rites for Indian Dead”, Evaluation Susan Harjo in her essay titled, “Last Rites for Indian Dead”, argues that it is wrong to remove the remains of Native Americans for medicinal, archeological, or fortune hunting purposes. Native American peoples should no longer be considered the property of all Americans. She decries the desecration, plunder, and exploitation of Native American grave-sites and holy sites. Her quest is to see national legislation passed to protect the burial remains of Native Americans. Her argument remains viable and quite compelling. Every human kind deserves reverential treatment. Despite the fact I am not a Native American, I can sympathize with the feelings of dishonor, desecration, and decadency someone must feel upon learning that their relatives have been exhumed without family awareness nor blessing. I would dread and hate the thought of having my own family grave tampered with whether for research or medical purposes. The only time I could compromise this thought is if authorities are requiring evidence to solve a crime. Grave sites and cemeteries ought to be preserved as places of peace and tranquility in honor of the deceased. How horrible it would be to visit my parent’s graveside only to discover they had been dug up? It is not right for anyone to look for wealth by tampering with the remains of the dead. Harjo calls research on her peoples’ relics into question by citing a well-known doctor, Emery A Johnson a former assistant Surgeon General who observed, "I am not aware of any current medical diagnostic or treatment procedure that has been derived from research on such skeletal remains. Nor am I aware of any during the thirty-four years that I have been involved American Indian…health care.” (159). On the contrary, this raised

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