An Allen Parish cemetery has changed a restriction in its contracts that only allowed whites to be buried at the site after a native American family was denied a plot.
The family of Allen Parish Deputy Darrell Semien sought to have their loved one buried at Oaklin Springs Cemetery but were rejected by an employee who cited the limitation. Oaklin Cemetery Association President Creig Vizena said what happened was terrible, and he hopes another family never has to go through this again.
“It was a shock, it was a shock to both of us me and their family, it was a shock to our board,” said Vizena. “It has never come up before, there has never been a person of color who had requested to be buried there.”
The family said the employee, reportedly the 81-year-old aunt of Vizena, was rude and used racial language. Vizena told KPLC-TV they have been relieved of their duties.
Vizena said he and the Board were unaware the language was in the contract, and after calling the courthouse discovered it was inserted in the 1950s.
“It is a skeleton from way in the past that has popped up it’s ugly head again. We can’t move forward as a country until all of this is gone,” said Vizena who said he apologized to the family and offered to give them one of his personal plots, but was told they no longer felt comfortable resting their loved one at Oaklin.
Vizena said he hopes no family ever has to go through something like this again and has a request for all other graveyards, churches, and other final resting places.
“Go through and look through your records and make sure that you have no verbiage in there that remotely resembles this or any kind of racial slur, or anything like that,” said Vizena.
The old contract read that it assigns the right of burial of the remains of white human beings. The contract was rewritten to remove the word white.