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Team photo in the field.

Day 6: The Resurgence

Human Rights, Migrant Death

We have officially completed 2/3’s of this years field season in south Texas and while our bodies are entirely exhausted, our team is dedicated to completing what we came here to do: recover the remains of unidentified border crossers. Today our team started out by continuing a test trench across the middle of our quadrant. Although this area had not been noted by the funeral director as absolutely containing migrants, the lack of grave markers between graves of known individuals seemed promising. After digging down as far as 125 cm in our trench without uncovering anything but more dirt, the funeral director, Arnold returned to the cemetery telling us that the area we were trenching was a much older region of the cemetery and would definitely not contain migrants.

Overview of team members digging trenches.Refocusing our efforts elsewhere, we began trenching the northwestern extremity of our quadrant in areas pointed out to us by Arnold as definitely containing migrants. LOTS of dirt was moved today and unlike days prior in which multiple burials were located, just a single burial was located today. While this seems measly at first glance, making it easy to become discouraged (especially considering that today was the hottest day of the session thus far), eliminating regions of the cemetery is as important as finding bodies.

Moving so much dirt  without removal Deputy Don White flagging an area of interest.of remains to break up the monotony provided lots of time to reflect. Deputy Sheriff Don White, our hired security, decided to step in and help us move some dirt today. We were very grateful for his help and company. As he helped us work, he told us of a story that helped us remember our goals:

-The cemetery in which we are working is one of three family owned plots which have been divided over the years as one single family cemetery was broken up due to familial conflict. The owner of one neighboring cemetery visited this week and spoke with Deputy Don. This particular family member exhibited hesitance towards our work on the neighboring plot, but Deputy Don relayed the goal of our work and highlighted the efforts we are taking to maintain dignity and respect for all inhabitants of the cemetery recounting one particular case in which we went out of our way to uncover and reinter a particularly shallow grave at a greater depth. With Deputy Dons reassurance, this family member, no longer hesitant towards our efforts, left us with their blessing.

Jordan

Day 5: Tamales and Trenches and Wind, Oh My!

Community, Environment, Human Rights, Migrant Death
Texas sunrise next to a windmill.
The gorgeous, Texas sunrise we see every morning

Today was our fifth day at the cemetery. Our team, being a hard-working and motivated group of people, was determined to bring high energy to the site and complete our goals for the day. We compiled a plan the night before, in which we decided to confront a new area of our quadrant. The funeral director had given Dr. Kate Spradley, from Texas State University, an idea of where he thought migrants may have been buried, but it was our duty as anthropologists to be sure to check all possible unmarked areas that could have been containing migrant burials. We felt it was important to start a new trench within the cemetery that contained a long stretch of land where no grave markers were present.

Jordan digging a trench.
Jordan deepening the trench floor

Even before clearing surface vegetation to better observe the topography of the area, we could still see and feel some possible depressions beneath our feet. It is likely that we are correct, and there are burials far below the surface in this area. However, we have been facing the challenge that some of these burials do not fit the migrant profile due to the circumstances of their burials. Hopefully the funeral director was correct, and we find the final two individuals in this quadrant we are looking for so they can be analyzed and identified.

According to the iPhone weather application, it was supposed to be one of the hottest days during our trip. The temperature was listed as a low of 56 and a high of 76 degrees Fahrenheit. It seemed like the temperature would be practically perfect. Little did we know, strong, gusting winds reaching 27 mph would throw us for a loop, sending our hats and papers flying as the day went on. As Jordan, Jessica and I mattocked and shoveled our new trench, dirt was flying in our faces and eyes (not the best feeling in the world). Meanwhile, Leann and Dr. Latham were chipping away at a massive wall that was covering one of the burials we discovered by the large pit. By lunch time, the team had accomplished removing a decent portion of our new trench, uncovered the deepest burial we have found so far, photographed and removed the body, and added the precise corners of this burial into our maps.

Team members uncovering a burial.
Leann and Dr. Latham uncovering a burial

Since it was impossible to do anything in peace with the wind, Dr. Latham suggested eating by the van. We rented a stylish, grey minivan for our transportation needs, so we thought that sitting on the North side of the van might block some of the northbound winds. At this point, everyone was getting pretty physically exhausted. During lunchtime, Dr. Latham suggested taking a short-day, which was probably productive for the overall group morale. We went back to work for another hour or so and then called it a day around 2:15 pm.

Delia's restaurant in San Juan.
Restaurant in San Juan where we ate delicious tamales

Back at the hotel, everyone showered and had some down time. We were super excited for dinner tonight at Delia’s, which is a well-known tamale restaurant with an alluring reputation. It honestly wasn’t difficult for the group to agree upon driving 30 minutes from our hotel to get dinner because everyone here is obsessed with tamales. I can truthfully say it lived up to our expectations.

I think the abbreviated workday helped regenerate our bodies and spirits. As frustrating as the wind turned out to be, we all stayed strong, encouraged each other, and maintained optimism. I am incredibly proud at how hard-working everyone has been. There is still much to get done before Thursday, but it is absolutely attainable. No matter what obstacles are thrown our direction, we will not lose steam!

-Sammi

End of day 5 group photo
End of day 5 group photo
Six individuals holding up four fingers.

Day 4: Teamwork

Human Rights, Migrant Death

As I write this, we are all sitting together as a group going over what we did well today, what we need to work on in the future, and strategizing for a productive day tomorrow.  As we reminisce on the day’s work, I feel so proud of how much we were able to accomplish in just one day.  These accomplishments were due to many factors, including effective communication, seamless teamwork, and our determination to begin the identification journey for as many individuals as possible.

Today started out a little later than usual.  While we usually get up at 5:30am and arrive at the cemetery by 6:45am, today, we were able to sleep in until 6:30am and we arrived at the cemetery at 7:30am.  This extra hour of sleep was crucial, because not only do we have three days worth of exhaustion and sore muscles under our belts, we knew that we had a long, hard day ahead of us.

UIndy team working to uncover two burials.
UIndy team working to uncover two burials

Yesterday, in the last few moments before sunset,  we located two burials that would require us to extend our pit and remove a lot of dirt in the process.  These two burials were the first tasks we tackled this morning.  Although we did divide into two teams to uncover these burials simultaneously, we still worked as one cohesive unit – dumping buckets for each other and fetching any tools needed to complete the excavation.   Unfortunately, our efforts were met with some resistance as the soil was extremely compact and almost impossible to get through without the help of the mattock and a lot of manpower.  Thankfully, we had some extra help – Jorge! Jorge was incredibly helpful and we could not have gotten as much done today as we did without him. He used the mattock, carried and emptied buckets, shoveled dirt, and encouraged the team with his positive attitude.  Jorge was an integral member of our team today, and we will surely miss his help in the days  to come. At the end

Dr. Latham and Jessica excavating a burial.
Dr. Latham and Jessica excavating a burial

of the day, we had uncovered a total of seven burials.   From various context clues, we were able to decipher that three of these individuals did not fit the migrant profile; those burials remained in the ground and were recovered with dirt. Three other burials were consistent with the migrant profile and were subsequently removed to begin their journey towards identification.  The seventh burial was located at the end of the day and will be excavated first thing tomorrow morning.  Uncovering this many burials in just one day is a testament to how well our team works together and clearly demonstrates that through teamwork, any task is possible no matter how big!

After a long, hard day in the field, nothing sounded better to us than some gas station tacos!  While it may not seem like a good idea to eat tacos from a gas station, these tacos are actually phenomenal!  I was first introduced to gas station tacos (Laredo Taco Company) in Falfurrias and have loved them ever since.  These tacos are handmade with fresh tortillas and prepared right in front of you by incredibly nice and genuine people.  It was the perfect end to a long, successful day.

Texas sunset behind windmills.Tomorrow, our plan is to excavate the burial we found at the end of the today and create a trench in a large open area of our quadrant.   Because many of the migrant burials do not have associated grave markers, it is possible that this region contains unidentified individuals.   Creating trenches and digging test pits will be the most efficient way to locate any potential burials within this area.  I look forward to what tomorrow brings, and I know that if we can work together as well as we did today, we will be able to accomplish all that we set out to.

–Leann