Minnesota Prehistory

Minnesota Burial Laws

307.05 GIFTS AUTHORIZED FOR PROPRIETARY CARE OF LOTS IN CEMETERIES. (i.e. care of cemeteries)

Gifts, grants and bequests of persons property to any trust company, or to any or more individuals and their successors, in trust for the purpose of perpetual care, maintenance, and adornments of lots in private cemeteries and the walks, monuments, and the structures there on the primitive. They shall not be deemed invalid as violating any existing law against perpetuities or suspension of the power of alienation; and, in the furtherance therefore, any trust company or individual trustee and the trustee’s successors may take and hold in trust the title of anyone or more of such lots in a private cemetery in perpetuity.

307.06 TRANSFER TO ASSOCIATION; HOW EFFECTED. (i.e. The Transfer of Cemetery Land.)

 Any private cemetery established, platted and recorded under the laws of the state may consolidate with transfer it’s property, for cemetery purposes only, to any cemetery association or cooperation organized under the laws of the state which is contiguous to, or adjacent to such cemetery cooperation.

To so consolidate and transfer its property it shall be necessary:

That a resolution may be passed by a two-thirds vote of the law owners and members of such private cemeteries represented, present and voting at a special called for that purpose, which revolves shall recite that cemeteries cooperation or association it is proposed to consolidate with and transfer its property to, and the terms and conditions therefore; and thirty day days notice of such meetings shall be previously given by mail to each lot owner of such private cemetery whose addresses can be determined using reasonable diligence of the time and place when such meeting is to be held, reciting the purpose therefore, which notice shall be signed by at least five lot owners. The resolution shall be signed at acknowledged by the presiding officer and secretary of such meetings and shall be filled with the county records of the county which the private cemetery is situated.

This law states that once cemetery land is designated, it can change owners, but it cannot be converted from being cemetery land.

307.08 DAMAGES; ILLEGAL MOLESTATION OF HUMAN REMAINS; BURIALS; CEMETERIES; PENALTY. (i.e. Disturbance of Cemeteries, desecration etc.) subsections 1 - 10.

 Subdivision 1. It is a declaration and statement of legislative intent that all human burials and human skeleton remains shall be accorded equal treatment and respect for human dignity without reference to their ethnic origins, cultural backgrounds, or religious affiliations. The provisions of this section shall apply to all human burials or human skeletal remains found on or in all public or private lands or waters in Minnesota.
Subdivision 2. A person who intentionally, willfully, and knowingly destroys, mutilates injures, disturbs, or removes human skeletal remains or human burial grounds, is guilty of a felony. A person who intentionally, willfully or knowingly removes any tombstone monument or structure placed in public or private cemetery or unmarked human burial ground, or any fence, railing, or other works erected for protection or ornamental or any tree, shrub, or plant or grave goods and artifacts within the limits of the cemetery or burial ground and a person who without authority from the trustees, state archaeologist or Indian affaires intertribal board, discharges any firearms upon or over the grounds of any public or private cemetery or authenticated and identified Indian burial ground is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
Subdivision 3. Every authenticated and identified burial ground may be posted for protective purposes every 75 feet around its perimeter with science listing the activities prohibited by subdivision 2 and the penalty for violation of it. Posting is at the discretion of the Indian affaires council in the case of non-Indian burials.
Subdivision 3a. The state archaeologist shall authenticate all burial for purposes of this section and may enter on property for the purpose of authenticating burial sites. Only after obtaining written permission from the property owner or lessee, descendants of persons buried in burial sites covered by this section may enter the burial sites for the purpose of conducting religious ceremonies. This right of entry must not unreasonably burden property owners or unnecessarily restrict their use of the property.
Subdivision 4. The state shall retain all services of all qualified personnel archaeologist approved by the state archaeologist and the Indian affaires council, for the purpose of gathering information to authenticate or identify Indian burial grounds when the requested by a concerned scientific or contemporary Indian ethnic group, when Indian burials are known or suspected to exist on public lands or waters controlled by the state or political subdivision.
Subdivision 5. The cost of authentication, identification, marking, and rescue of unmarked or identifies burial grounds or burials shall be the responsibility of the state. The data collected by this activity that has common value for natural resource of the planning must be provided and integrated into Minnesota lands management informational systems geographic and summary databases according to published data compatibility guidelines. Cost association with these data delivery must be borne by the state.
Subdivision 6. The size, description and information on the signs must be approved by the Minnesota State historical society.
Subdivision 7. All unidentified human remains or burials found outside of platted recorded, or identified cemeteries and in contexts which indicate antiquity greater than 50 years shall be dealt with according to the provisional of this section. If such burials are not Indian or their ethnic identification cannot be ascertained, as a determined by the state archaeologist, they shall be dealt with in accordance with provisions established by the state archaeologist. If such burials are Indian, as determined by the state archaeologist efforts shall be made by the state archaeologist and the Indian affaires council to ascertain their tribal identity. If their probable tribal identity can be determined, such remains shall at the discretion of the state archaeologist and Indian affaires council, be turned over to contemporary tribe

leaders for disposition. If it is deemed desirable by the state archaeologist or the

Indian affaires council, such remains shall be studied by a qualified professional

archaeologist before being delivered to the tribal leaders. If tribal identity cannot be determined the Indian remains must be dealt with in accordance with provisions

established by the state archaeologist and the Indian affaires council.
Subdivision 8. No authenticated and identifies burial ground may be relocated unless the request to relocate is approved by the Indian affaires intertribal board. When the Indian burial ground is located on public; lands or waters, the cost of removal is the responsibility of and shall be paid by the state or political subdivision controlling the lands or waters. If large Indian burial grounds are involved, efforts shall be made by the state to purchase and protect them instead of removing them to another location.
Subdivision 9. The department of natural resources, the department of transportation, and all other state agencies and local governmental units of whose activities may be affected, shall cooperate with the state archaeologist and the Indian affaires intertribal board to carry out the provision of this section.
Subdivision 10. When location burials are known or suspected to exist, on public lands or waters, the state or political subdivision controlling the lands or waters shall submit construction and development plans to the state archaeologist and the Indian affaires intertribal board for review prior to the time bids are advertised. The state archaeologist and the Indian affaires intertribal board shall promptly review the plans and make recommendations for the preservation or removal of the human burials or remains, which may be endangered by construction or development activities.

307.082 CIVIL ACTIONS.

Subdivision 1. Who may bring. An action under this section may be maintained by the attorney general; a state agency or political subdivision; an individual residing within the state; or a partnership, corporation, association, company, or other entity with shareholders, members, partners, or employees residing within this state.
Subdivision 2. Action. A person or entity listed in Subdivision 1. may maintain a civil action seeking a temporary or permanent injunction, damages, or other appropriate relief against a person who is alleged to have committed a violation of section 307.08, sub 2. The action must be brought within two years after the alleged violation is discovered and reported to the state archaeologist or the Indian affaires council. The action must be filled in either the district court of the county in which the subject burial ground is located or in which the defendant resides.

307.09 EXEMPTIONS.

Subdivision 1. All lands, not exceeding 100 acres in extent, and in the case of cemeteries owned and managed by religious corporations, or corporations solely owned and controlled by and in the interest of any religious denomination, 300 acres in extent, so laid out and dedicated as a private cemetery, shall be exempt from public taxes and assessments, and shall not be liable to levy and sale on execution, or to be applied in payment of the debts of any owner therefore, so long as the same remains appropriated to the use of a cemetery; and no road or street shall be laid through the same without the consent of the owners.
Subdivision 2. Nothing contained in subdivision 1 shall be construed to exempt cemetery property owned or leased by any corporation, association, partnership, proprietorship or any other organization from any special assessment unless such corporation, association, partnership, proprietorship or other organization

a) Was formed for a purpose not involving pecuniary gain to its shareholders or members;

b) Pays no dividends or other pecuniary remuneration directly or indirectly to its shareholders or members as such.

307.10 VACATION; CHANGE OF NAME.

 Upon application of the owners of such cemetery, the district court of the county in which it is situate may alter or vacate the same, or any part therefore, as in the case of town plats. Upon like application, and upon such notice as the court may direct, it may change the name of such cemetery.