And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: * From: iktomi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> * From: Keith & Bomba Easter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.knoxnews.com/archives/browserecent/02011999/archives/14665 ------------------------------ Burial mound in path of road ------------------------------ Ancient cemetery unlikely to stop parkway February 1, 1998 By Jacques Billeaud, News-Sentinel staff writer An Indian burial mound at the University of Tennessee stands roughly in the path of a proposed parkway that would link the university's main and agriculture campuses. But the mound, which preservationists are asking to be protected, likely will not halt the parkway's construction, said Luanne Grandinetti, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Transportation, which is planning the project. "But you never know how these things are going to work out," Grandinetti added. The four-lane road and an 800-foot-long bridge to both campuses -- now separated by a manufacturing plant, railroad tracks and Third Creek -- was criticized as a back-room political deal and a waste of millions of dollars. Opponents want a smaller link that wouldn't increase traffic through the campuses. Transportation officials say the four-lane parkway is the best use of state money because it will address long-range traffic needs. The project will continue despite opposition to it, university officials said. With design plans still being drawn, it's not yet known whether the parkway would skirt the Indian mound or cut through it, Grandinetti said, adding that it's too early to say whether the parkway's path might be altered. "We will do all we can to address this situation," she said. Protection of the mound has been urged by the university's historic preservation committee and by the Cherokee Indians, who believe they are descendants of the Indians buried in the mound. "I am committed to the continued protection of our ancestral burials and hope the University of Tennessee will rethink any actions which would lead to their destruction," Joyce Dugan, principal chief for the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, wrote to UT President Joe Johnson. Johnson believes the mound, the only one on campus, will be protected. "I would certainly think that everybody would do everything to preserve the Indian mound," said Johnson, who is planning to pass Dugan's thoughts along to the parkway's designers. The mound, probably one of the few in East Tennessee that hasn't been disturbed, should be protected because it's a cemetery likely dating back 1,000 years, said Charles H. Faulkner, an anthropology professor on the university's historic preservation committee. But that's not to say that development hasn't closed in on the mound, which is at the corner of Center and Chapman drives. "The two streets that go by the mound now are close enough, and if that's expanded, it's going to encroach further," Faulkner said. While the mound is on the National Register of Historic Places, that doesn't mean it's automatically protected from being destroyed, said Betsey Creekmore, chairwoman of the preservation committee, which isn't recommending that the road project be stopped. "The committee feels this is a very important aspect of the campus and it's important to our continuing preservation of Native American artifacts and relics," said Creekmore, who is also the university's associate vice chancellor for space and facilities. John Nolt, a philosophy professor and spokesman for Citizens for a Pedestrian-Friendly Campus, wants the parkway scaled down. If the parkway were reduced to two lanes, he said, the mound would be protected, and he believes much of the opposition would disappear. Jacques Billeaud may be reached at 423-521-1833 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] Monday, February 1, 1999 &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
