continue with ongoing guidance within living landscapes and kinship ties. Native American tribes’ burial and cremation practices vary from nation to nation, based on geographical location.
Plains and Plateau nations used scaffold or tree burials to aid spirit travel and protect remains. Lakota, Mandan, and Crow examples include raised platforms, offerings, and, later, secondary reburials when feasible. Mississippi Valley peoples built chambered mounds that linked ancestors, territory, and ritual authority across generations. Some Southwest and Southeast communities cremated and placed remains in earthenware jars for protection and identity.
