Since our blog debuted in 2017, we have published 500+ posts. While some of you may have been with us from the start (thank you, loyal readers!), others may have joined us more recently.
So, we’re highlighting periodically some of the posts that have garnered a lot of views or that address topics of continuing interest in the current moment — posts that you may have missed or that you might want to revisit.
Today, we feature a post published in May 2023 and written by one of our graduate students for ENGL 801 “Graduate Studies in English” — a post which has been steadily gaining in readership since its initial publication: “Rebury, Repatriate, Reclaim: Rhetoric of the ‘Salina Burial Pit’” by Kinsley Searles (MA ’24).
In this rhetorical analysis, Kinsley unpacks the multiple meanings of this Indigenous resting place, including its place in Indigenous culture and legal history within the State of Kansas:
The SBP was a burial-site-turned-tourist trap off of rural roads east of Salina, KS that became a site for controversy and activism. This site would ultimately lead to state and national legal action. This activism, particularly activism in writing, was a key example of Indigenous survivance: survival + resistance. […]
Importantly, the activism from Indigenous leaders succeeded: not only was the SBP closed, but leaders also advocated for passage of the “Kansas Unmarked Human Burial and Skeletal Remains Protection Act.” This act protects all human remains in the state of Kansas and served as a cornerstone of the Native American Grave Repatriation and Protection Act (NAGPRA), which would federally protect Indigenous remains throughout the United States.
Read more at “Rebury, Repatriate, Reclaim: Rhetoric of the ‘Salina Burial Pit’“ — and our thanks to Kinsley for this contribution!
— Karin Westman, Department Head
K-State English 