Conference To Explore Cemetery Preservation

Conference To Explore Cemetery Preservation

Wednesday, September 02, 2009 at 12:57

The first national conference on restoring Aboriginal cemeteries will be held this month in Regina.

Elmer Eashappie is coordinating the event, which is called “Restore and Respect: A National Conference on Aboriginal Cemeteries”.

Eashappie says history is being lost through poor record keeping and management of Aboriginal cemeteries.

“The conference is designed to create awareness of the cemetery conditions on the reserves…. It’s never been done before, anywhere in Canada. It’s one of those things that you don’t talk about, because it’s considered a taboo topic, and most people don’t want to talk about the death, so to speak,” Eashappie says.

The conference runs Sept. 20 and 21.