The Descendant Community seeks respectful, final rest for the 2,480 Milwaukee community members whose remains have been on university shelves for research purposes, some of them since 1991, including the 831 we were given the right to rebury who were disinterred in 2013.
We intend for this website to share a currated selection of sources of the County Grounds. In the meantime, you can read some of the publications we have collected, visit our main website, or view our other subsites hosted here.
Other Subsites
Through partnerships with educators and schools, high school students are provided with carefully researched genealogical profiles prepared by our team. Using authentic historical documentation, students craft short, compassionate narratives that bring these individuals’ lives into focus. The project encourages students to move beyond dates and records to consider the humanity, challenges, and lived experiences behind the archives.
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Statement on the Dignity of the Ancestors of the Milwaukee County Grounds CemeteriesThis statement was delivered by a representative of the Descendant Community of Milwaukee County Grounds Cemeteries, Inc., immediately prior to a session of the symposium “There and Back Again: Celebrating the Career and Ongoing Contributions of Patricia B. Richards” at the Society for American Archaeology annual meeting, 21 April 2024. While not part of the official program, it was presented with the consent of those present in the room. The statement honors the dignity and resilience of various ancestors, including individuals born into enslavement, immigrants, Civil War soldiers, vulnerable children, and women who faced systemic barriers. It addresses the ethical responsibilities of archaeologists and other professionals handling human remains, emphasizing consent, transparency, and respect. The document calls for the uplift of these Ancestors with reverence, highlighting the moral obligations of contemporary researchers to descendant communities.