Ancestors Buried Below Us

In the 1860s, Scarlet Fever devastated a diverse group of Native Americans, including Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi, who had been forced out of their ancestral homelands by settlement and were abiding outside Stevens Point. Decimated by disease and social forces in the wake of this epidemic, the living continued on, but their deceased relatives remain interred within this site. As Stevens Point grew, the burial ground was knowingly used as a garbage dump. Following a series of land transfers, the Stevens Point Normal School was built on the burial site and opened in 1894. Today, plans are being made to acknowledge these Ancestors, honor their journey, and learn from this shared history in a way respectful to those who lie here.

Stevens Point, Wisconsin · United States