Post by cinemo on May 3, 2014 9:18:20 GMT -5
Maria Darlene Pearson was born July 12, 1932 in Springfield, South Dakota. Her parents, Joseph Luther Oscar Drappeaux and Winifred May Keeler Drappeaux, gave her the name Darlene Elvira Drappeaux. Since she was a member of the Turtle Clan of the Yankton Sioux tribe, her mother also gave her the Yankton name, Hai-Mecha Eunka (translated as Running Moccasins). Although Maria attended public and parochial schools, she was educated in Yankton customs and traditions by her grandmother. 1969 she married John Pearson and spent most of her adult life in Iowa. Besides her home life, Maria was a fighter for Native American rights. Maria’s journey on the path of advocacy began in early 1971.
John, her husband, a district engineer with the Iowa Highway Commission (now Iowa Department of Transportation), informed her of the Glenwood Incident. During a highway construction project south of Council Bluffs, the remains of 26 Caucasian pioneers were disinterred and moved to a nearby cemetery for reburial. The remains of an Indian woman and her baby and associated artifacts, however, were not re-interred, but were instead sent to the office of the State Archaeologist for study. Maria could not understand this discriminatory protection of Euro-American but not Indian graves. She protested to Govenor Robert D. Ray in Des Moines , finally gaining an audience with him after sitting outside his office in traditional attire. When Ray asked Pearson what he could do for her, she replied, "You can give me back my people's bones and you can quit digging them up." Afterwards she spoke with Marshall McKusick, State Archaeologist. After some time an agreement was reached whereby the Indian woman and her baby and associated artifacts were reburied in the same cemetery as the 26 Caucasians. Eventually Maria met with legislators, archaeologists, anthropologists, physical anthropologists, and other tribal members to spur legislation guaranteeing equal treatment of non-Indian and Native American remains.
At issue was a conflict between native peoples’ animistic religious beliefs and the handling and study of Indian remains by the scientific community. Indian beliefs hold that the past cannot be separated from the present, and that a person’s spirit stays with their remains. Thus, if ancestral bones are disturbed, the spirits are unhappy. Iowa’s landmark 1976 legislation (Iowa Code, Ch. 263B.7-9 & 716.5) was the nation’s first to protect Native American graves and provide for repatriation of remains. Four cemeteries (western, eastern, north-central, and southern) were established for reburials of ancient American Indian remains.
The Iowa Burials Protection Act of 1976 was the first legislative act in the U.S. that specifically protected American Indian remains.
Maria Pearson's work in Iowa and continued advocacy on behalf of Native American rights was instrumental in the passage of important federal legislation with the most recent being the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 1990 (NAGPRA).
Later, Mrs. Pearson served as special advisor on Native American issues to Governors Robert D. Ray and Terry Branstad. She established and served on the Iowa State Indian Advisory Council to the Iowa Legislature, advised Iowa history teachers on correct Native American events and culture and led the movement to replace erroneous history texts. She served on the Juvenile Justice Advisory Council from 1980 to 1986; was a member of the National Congress of American Indians; and served as a consultant to the Yankton Sioux tribal council, Trees Forever Foundation, the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge and the Dallas County Conservation Commission. She also served as a board member of the Iowa Peace Institute and as president of the Governors' Interstate Indian Council for the state of Iowa.
Aside from being nominated for the Noble Peace Prize twice, she received numerous awards throughout her life including the Iowa Woman of Achievement.
Maria Pearson had six children and 21 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. Mrs. Pearson died in Ames, Iowa on May 23 , 2003.
"The Indian point of view on exhumation can be stated in simple terms. Basically there is rarely a good reason for removal of the dead from the ground where they have rested so long and when it does become necessary those human remains should be reburied as soon as possible and in a proper and dignified manner.... Our ancestors were human and we want them left alone... We Indians respect our ancestors. They are present in our ceremonies and we call upon them for help to live our lives helping one another... [They] were once people who once walked on earth, loved, prayed, took care of their families, died and were buried.... We believe that the dead should stay buried. There is enough land for everything that needs to be done so that a few acres left for our dead won't cause anyone to starve." ( Maria Pearson )
Sources ( especially ) : www.ameshistory.org/exhibits/pearson3.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Pearson
cinemo
John, her husband, a district engineer with the Iowa Highway Commission (now Iowa Department of Transportation), informed her of the Glenwood Incident. During a highway construction project south of Council Bluffs, the remains of 26 Caucasian pioneers were disinterred and moved to a nearby cemetery for reburial. The remains of an Indian woman and her baby and associated artifacts, however, were not re-interred, but were instead sent to the office of the State Archaeologist for study. Maria could not understand this discriminatory protection of Euro-American but not Indian graves. She protested to Govenor Robert D. Ray in Des Moines , finally gaining an audience with him after sitting outside his office in traditional attire. When Ray asked Pearson what he could do for her, she replied, "You can give me back my people's bones and you can quit digging them up." Afterwards she spoke with Marshall McKusick, State Archaeologist. After some time an agreement was reached whereby the Indian woman and her baby and associated artifacts were reburied in the same cemetery as the 26 Caucasians. Eventually Maria met with legislators, archaeologists, anthropologists, physical anthropologists, and other tribal members to spur legislation guaranteeing equal treatment of non-Indian and Native American remains.
At issue was a conflict between native peoples’ animistic religious beliefs and the handling and study of Indian remains by the scientific community. Indian beliefs hold that the past cannot be separated from the present, and that a person’s spirit stays with their remains. Thus, if ancestral bones are disturbed, the spirits are unhappy. Iowa’s landmark 1976 legislation (Iowa Code, Ch. 263B.7-9 & 716.5) was the nation’s first to protect Native American graves and provide for repatriation of remains. Four cemeteries (western, eastern, north-central, and southern) were established for reburials of ancient American Indian remains.
The Iowa Burials Protection Act of 1976 was the first legislative act in the U.S. that specifically protected American Indian remains.
Maria Pearson's work in Iowa and continued advocacy on behalf of Native American rights was instrumental in the passage of important federal legislation with the most recent being the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 1990 (NAGPRA).
Later, Mrs. Pearson served as special advisor on Native American issues to Governors Robert D. Ray and Terry Branstad. She established and served on the Iowa State Indian Advisory Council to the Iowa Legislature, advised Iowa history teachers on correct Native American events and culture and led the movement to replace erroneous history texts. She served on the Juvenile Justice Advisory Council from 1980 to 1986; was a member of the National Congress of American Indians; and served as a consultant to the Yankton Sioux tribal council, Trees Forever Foundation, the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge and the Dallas County Conservation Commission. She also served as a board member of the Iowa Peace Institute and as president of the Governors' Interstate Indian Council for the state of Iowa.
Aside from being nominated for the Noble Peace Prize twice, she received numerous awards throughout her life including the Iowa Woman of Achievement.
Maria Pearson had six children and 21 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. Mrs. Pearson died in Ames, Iowa on May 23 , 2003.
"The Indian point of view on exhumation can be stated in simple terms. Basically there is rarely a good reason for removal of the dead from the ground where they have rested so long and when it does become necessary those human remains should be reburied as soon as possible and in a proper and dignified manner.... Our ancestors were human and we want them left alone... We Indians respect our ancestors. They are present in our ceremonies and we call upon them for help to live our lives helping one another... [They] were once people who once walked on earth, loved, prayed, took care of their families, died and were buried.... We believe that the dead should stay buried. There is enough land for everything that needs to be done so that a few acres left for our dead won't cause anyone to starve." ( Maria Pearson )
Sources ( especially ) : www.ameshistory.org/exhibits/pearson3.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Pearson
cinemo