For what it's worth - I have seen relatively plain white crosses and crosses adorned with flowers along the roadside where people have been killed in accidents. This was in northern Saskatchewan for sure and I think northern Alberta as well. I am not sure if this is strictly a Native North American custom but these are regions with high aboriginal populations and reserves . Audra Oliver wrote: > ... Along these lines, in the Pacific Northwest white crosses have > been placed at roadsides where people have been killed in accidents > for as long as I can remember. The first I remember of decorated > crosses in a similar situation was on Native American land in Idaho in > 1980. Now there seems to be a widespread practice (at least in the > Rocky Mountain west) of heavily decorated roadside crosses. Is this > more wide-spread or is it localized? > > > -- Lauraine Armstrong Curator of Collections Northern Life Museum tel: 867-872-2859 PO Box 420 fax: 867-872-5808 Fort Smith, NWT X0E 0P0 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Software is that ridiculous collection of absurdities that doesn't know the first thing about how to make a good cup of tea.' Arthur Dent vs. Nutrimatic Machine (D. Adams) ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).