Nightmare Burial Tree

the Sioux and other North American First Nations used A burial tree for supporting corpses or coffins. They were once common among the North American Indigenous.

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A number of Native Americans used a burial tree as either a final or intermediate resting place for a Dead relative. It was an alternative to a grave or the ground in Winter being frozen, a deep grave was incapable of being dug.

The corpse was wrapped up carefully in a robe, blankets or coffin and either placed in a fork of the tree or tied to a heavy branch. Both adults and small children were laid to rest in this way. A burial tree could carry several dead. It seems any tree was proper however Cottonwood was favored on the great plains, as well as Pine and Cedar in mountainous areas.

The dead could be placed from around six to eight feet up in the tree or close to the top to protect the dead from wolves and any other predators digging up the bodies and devouring them or to prevent persons walking over a grave. in a tree, the relatives could easily talk to the deceased.

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Some of the belongings of the deceased were often placed near the base of the tree and some trees painted with decoration.

The Lakota and Crow positioned the dead with their feet facing the East.