[OR_Archaeology] Eastern Oregon Univ. unveils memorial to Historical Cemetery

[Susan White]

(from the LaGrande Observer newspaper August 1, 2008)

Eastern Oregon University and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation will unveil a memorial commemorating Inlow Hall as
the site of a historical pioneer cemetery. 

Representatives from the CTUIR will perform a cleansing ceremony at the
site, which may have also served as an American Indian burial ground. 

The ceremony and dedication will be held Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. on the
southeast lawn of Inlow Hall. 

Dixie Lund, EOU president, will give the opening remarks, and Chuck
Coate, EOU professor emeritus, will share a brief history of the site. 

Unveiling of the monument is scheduled for 11:25 a.m. CTUIR members and
Tim Seydel, EOU associate vice president for Marketing, Development and
Public Affairs, will also give comments. 

Inlow Hall was constructed in 1929 and during the initial excavation
process, burial plots dating back to the mid-1800s were uncovered and
relocated to Hillcrest Cemetery. However, some of the graves were left
intact and exposed human remains were later discovered under the
building. 

In 2005, EOU hired Blue Mountain Consulting to complete a detailed
archeological survey of the site. After gathering input from the
community and the CTUIR, the decision was made to install a permanent
cement cap encasing the crawl space where the bodies were found. 

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department*s Historic Cemeteries
Program provided funding for the memorial and Inlow Hall and the
surrounding area are now recognized as a state cultural site.