Juris: an Ethnic Cemetery on the High Plains

Abstract

The study of Juris Cemetery, a small rural cemeteryfor Slovak settlers on the High Plains ofColorado, reveals almost complete acculturation to the dominant society. Moreover, the distribution of graves and the materials, forms, and inscriptions of gravestones convey little information about religious affiliation or distinctions of gender, age, and personal accomplishment. Even the principle offamily solidarity is hardly given the emphasis one might expect. The suggestion is that these homesteaders and their descendants practiced burial with little concern for ethnic continuity or for the representation of social distinctions and relationships.