KCA officials discuss cemetery restoration

CACHE, Okla. (KSWO) - Elders and citizens of the Comanche, Kiowa and Apache tribes worked on their hands and knees over the weekend to repair the devastation left behind by hogs at The KCA Cemetery in Cache.

While things may look bad now, they say they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get things back, and better than they were before.

”It was heartbreaking to know that they trampled on our ancestors like they did,” said Linda Pebeahsy.

She said generations of her family are buried on the grounds, along with plenty of others.

”We had elders like me out here Saturday, that couldn’t stand up,” she said. “They sat down in chairs and raked to help do what they could.”

KCA Executive Director Yolonda Ramos was part of the effort. She said, in an official meeting Monday morning, tribal leaders discussed their plans to repair the damage.

”We are going to look at getting a new fence put in, so I’m gonna work on getting an estimate on that,” Ramos said. “We’re looking at some possible options for hunting, and looking at some options for possibly trapping as well.”

Because the hogs tunneled their way under the cemetery’s fence, volunteers placed stakes attached to the fence into the ground as a temporary solution.

Ramos said she’s working to get this situation fixed as soon as possible.

”I have family members from all three tribes that are within our cemetery,” she said. “So it’s very important to me to not only make sure that these cemeteries are kept up, but my future goal is to get them plotted out.”

Copyright 2023 KSWO. All rights reserved.