The way Sonny Rodrique sees it, we are all connected.

The 54-year-old roofer of Apache descent feels spiritually linked to the Native Americans who, archeologists say, have been resting in stone graves for more than 800 years at the western edge of what is now Nashville, on a tranquil, woodsy bank of the Cumberland River.

Mr. Rodrique also sees a connection between those who could allow Wal-Mart to dig up and relocate the 21 ancient graves to build a superstore, and America's seventh president, Nashville's own Andrew Jackson.

In Mr. Rodrique's view, a similar disrespect for Native American culture allowed President Jackson to initiate the Trail of Tears, which cut through Nashville in the 1830's and forced thousands of American Indians to abandon their Southeastern homelands for the long trek west.

And as Wal-Mart, America's largest retailer, stands ready to build at the grave site, he notes that Andrew Jackson lies undisturbed across town, in a tomb on the peaceful, manicured grounds of his 625-acre private home and well-preserved tourist attraction, the Hermitage.