A Wisconsin legislative bill which would allow a landowner to have the final authority whether a proposed development has human remains on the land is drawing sharp opposition from Native American communities.
The proposal concerns a Ho-Chunk burial site near Madison. A stone manufacturer sought a permit for the excavation and removal of the last remaining catalogued native burial site at their Madison-based quarry.
The matter has moved to the Appeals court where it's pending, but the company sought a change by asking the legislature to pass a bill. Among the Native groups opposing the bill is the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council based in Lac du Flambeau, a consortium of tribes in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.
Executive Director Mike Allen says the bill is contrary to the federal Native American Graves and Repatriation Act...
"....we feel they don't have a right to do that....these are burial grounds that belong to the Indian people and we don't want them disturbed. We want them left alone. That's what it's all about. I think they want to move these graves and do what they want to do with them and it's wrong. It's really wrong. They need to be left alone. These are sacred Indian burial grounds that belong to our Indian people. We going to fight to do what we have to to stop it...."
A protest rally is set for Tuesday afternoon at the west side of the state Capitol in Madison. The bill was authored by Senator Chris Kapenga, a Republican from Delafield, and Representative Robert Brooks, a Republican from Saukville.
