VAULT BEING EXHUMED FROM THE LITTLE IVY CHURCH CEMETERY, MARS HILL

When the Little Ivy Church Cemetery was being moved, family members gathered at the site every day. They wanted to “witness” and be assured this difficult task was handled with care and respect. The probing, digging, removal, and in the case of wooden caskets, the ritual placing of remains in a new box, was done by Native Americans, Lumbee men from Eastern North Carolina. The families didn’t know these workers, probably didn’t know any Native Americans. But they knew of the Native reverence for their own ancestors, their belief in the spirit world, and because of that they trusted these men with their loved ones, and with their memories.