Cataloging Burial Sites
Cataloging burial sites is important because they serve as
a direct link to our past. A large number of prehistoric and
historic Native American cemeteries and burial mounds, as well
as abandoned European American cemeteries and family burial
plots, have been damaged or destroyed. The Burial
Sites Preservation law, 157.70 Wisconsin Statutes, is in
place to assure that all human burials outside the boundaries
of maintained, well-marked cemeteries are protected.
In the early years of the Burial Sites Preservation Program, staff researched old plat maps and surveyed topographic maps in order to create a database of documented burials, both of Native American and European American decent.
As awareness of the program increases, the Office's active constituencies have helped us identify burial sites that are not recorded in our inventory. Some of these constituencies include: Native American tribes in Wisconsin and elsewhere (those who used to reside in present day Wisconsin), landowners, realtors, cemetery associations, genealogists, engineering and environmental firms, archaeological contractors, developers, law enforcement personnel and attorneys.
You can help us protect these burials by working with us to catalog burial sites on your property or in your community by...
Cataloging Historic Cemeteries
Cataloging Native American Burial Mounds
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