In this Sept. 29, 2023, photo, Brian Cruger holds the cross made for the grave of his great-grandmother, Lucy Pitka McCormick, and with him is McCormick's granddaughtger, Kathleen Carlo, during a reburial ceremony in Rampart, Alaska. Pitka was one of the Lost Alaskans sent to a mental hospital in the 1930s. Her grave was recently discovered, and family members brought her back to Alaska for a proper burial. (Photo by Wally Carlo via AP).
This undated image provided by the Alaska State Library shows people at Morningside Hospital in Portland, Ore. Volunteers have spent years digging through old records to identify about 5,500 Alaskans who were committed to a mental hospital in Oregon before Alaska gained statehood. (Alaska State Library, Historical Collections via AP)
In this 1912 image provided by the Alaska State Library is the entrance to the men's pavilion at Morningside Hospital in Portland, Ore. Volunteers have spent years digging through old records to identify about 5,500 Alaskans who were committed to a mental hospital in Oregon before Alaska gained statehood. (Alaska State Library, Historical Collections via AP)
This undated image provided by the Alaska State Library shows the beds at Morningside Hospital in Portland, Ore. Volunteers have spent years digging through old records to identify about 5,500 Alaskans who were committed to a mental hospital in Oregon before Alaska gained statehood. (Alaska State Library, Historical Collections via AP)
In this photo believed taken in 1925, Lucille Pitka McCormick, right, is shown with her daughter Mary Carlo in the village of Rampart, Alaska. McCormick was one of the Lost Alaskans sent to a mental hospital in the 1930s. Her grave was recently discovered, and family members brought her back to Alaska for a proper burial. (Photo by Wally Carlo via AP).
This Feb. 2, 2011, photo shows Niejse Steinkruger at the Alaska state archives in Juneau, Alaska, displaying a book of old court records that included sanity hearings. Steinkruger and other volunteers have spent years digging through old records to identify about 5,500 Alaskans who were committed to a mental hospital in Oregon before Alaska gained statehood. (Roger Brunner via AP)
This undated image provided by the Alaska State Library shows Alaska Natives among strawberries at Morningside Hospital in Portland, Ore. Volunteers have spent years digging through old records to identify about 5,500 Alaskans who were committed to a mental hospital in Oregon before Alaska gained statehood. (Alaska State Library, Historical Collections via AP)
In this Sept. 29, 2023, photo at the grave of Lucky Pitka McCormick, her granddaughter Kathleen Carlo, left, and McCormick's great-great-grandchildren Lucia, center, and Addison Carlo place candles and stones on the grave during a reburial ceremony in Rampart, Alaska. Pitka was one of the Lost Alaskans sent to a mental hospital in the 1930s. Her grave was recently discovered, and family members brought her back to Alaska for a proper burial. (Wally Carlo via AP).
Eric Cordingley visits Multnomah Park Cemetery on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in Portland, Ore. Cordingley has volunteered at his neighborhood cemetery for about 15 years. He's done everything from cleaning headstones to trying to decipher obscure burial records. He has documented Portland burial sites — Multnomah Park and Greenwood Hills cemeteries — have the most Lost Alaskans, and obtained about 1,200 death certificates. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Eric Cordingley looks at his records while searching for the graves of those who died at Morningside Hospital at Multnomah Park Cemetery on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in Portland, Ore. Cordingley has volunteered at his neighborhood cemetery for about 15 years. He's done everything from cleaning headstones to trying to decipher obscure burial records. He has documented Portland burial sites — Multnomah Park and Greenwood Hills cemeteries — have the most Lost Alaskans, and obtained about 1,200 death certificates. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Headstones, some belonging to those who died at Morningside Hospital, are seen in Multnomah Park Cemetery on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in Portland, Ore. Cordingley has volunteered at his neighborhood cemetery for about 15 years. He's done everything from cleaning headstones to trying to decipher obscure burial records. He has documented Portland burial sites — Multnomah Park and Greenwood Hills cemeteries — have the most Lost Alaskans, and obtained about 1,200 death certificates. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)