Residents press Lafayette council to acknowledge and memorialize forgotten burials at Potters Hill in Lafayette Cemetery

Several Lafayette residents used the public comment period at the City Council meeting to press for formal recognition of lost and unrecorded burials in the Potters Hill section of Lafayette Cemetery and to urge the city to adopt plaque language memorializing those interred.

Frank Archuleta, who said he had compiled newspaper accounts and town records, told council he had documented a pattern of poor recordkeeping that disproportionately affected Latinos, Catholics and immigrants. Archuleta said his materials show "as many as 200 people were buried" in the Potter's Hill section and told council he and other community members are seeking adoption of plaque language crafted on Dec. 4, 2023 to honor "forgotten infants, children, women, and men" in that section.

Why it matters: Several speakers framed the issue as one of historical omission and…