NAGPRA – Page 10 – Turtle Talk

Detroit News: Tribe Demands Remains from U-M

April 17, 2008Matthew L.M. Fletcher

ANN ARBOR — On the wooden shelves of a University of Michigan laboratory, thousands of relics — ceramic bowls, copper beads and stone and bone tools — await the careful eyes of researchers.

The ancient burial artifacts provide rich details about vibrant cultures that hunted, fished, raised crops and traded goods throughout the Great Lakes and beyond, archaeologists say.

But a group of Native Americans led by the Saginaw Chippewa of Mount Pleasant say hundreds of human remains, and the funerary objects buried with them, are being wrongly held and they are asking U-M to return them so they can be reburied.

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Saginaw Chippewa Tribe to address U of M Board of Regents regarding Ancestral Remains held by U of M

March 19, 2008ilpc

From the email announcement:

CALLING OUT FOR SUPPORT!

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe (SCIT) was just notified that
a request was granted to address the University of Michigan’s Board of
Regents during their meeting TOMORROW, Thursday, March 20. The meeting
will begin at 3pm in the Regent’s Room of the Fleming Administration
Bldg. in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Joseph Sowmick, SCIT Public Relations Director, will read a
5-minute statement during the Public Comment session regarding the 1,200
or more “culturally unaffiliated” ancestral remains and their associated
funerary objects that are being held by the University of Michigan.

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe is asking for a unified
mobilization of support from all Anishinabe people. MACPRA
representatives and Ogitchedaw (George Martin will be present with his
Eagle Staff) are strongly encouraged to attend. All interested peoples
who support the return of our ancestral remains, please join us.

We are planning to meet in the plaza between 2-3pm in front of
the Fleming Administration Bldg. located on Thompson St. All present
will not be able to go into the Regent’s Room, but a delegation of
support can be present in the plaza.

LATs Article on NAGPRA and UC Berkeley

January 13, 2008January 13, 2008Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From the LA Times:

UC Berkeley’s bones of contention

Native Americans say Hearst Museum is violating a law on returning ancient remains. But officials say finding rightful recipients is often impossible.

Robert Durell / TPN

American Indians protest at the University of California, Berkeley, last October over the university’s storage of tribal remains.

BERKELEY — There is a legend at UC Berkeley that human bones are stored in the landmark Campanile tower. But university officials say that’s not true.

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Michigan Anishinaabek Cultural Preservation and Repatriation Alliance & WMU

October 25, 2007Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Battle Creek Enquirer:

WMU helps museum identify human remnants as Native American
The Enquirer

Professors from Western Michigan University identified human remains in the Kingman Museum collection to be those of Native Americans on Tuesday.

Anthropologist professors and several students inspected 11 boxes of remains, scalps and cultural artifacts at the museum’s request.

The museum was complying with the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which federally regulates that institutions identify and return certain Native American cultural items to lineal descendants or culturally affiliated Indian tribes.

The Michigan Anishnaabek Cultural Preservation and Repatriation Alliance (MACPRA), which represents the state’s federally recognized and historic Indian tribes, asked that Kingman identify the unknown remains.

The bones came from as nearby as Coldwater Avenue in Battle Creek and as far as the Grand Canyon and Peru. Remains found in Alaska and near Muskegon were deemed to be those of several Native Americans and the others were either unidentifiable or purchased through medical companies.

Here’s the National NAGPRA site.

Here’s the full text of the statute.

Congressional Research Service Reports

October 2, 2007Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

If anyone out there wants to find out what “secret” reports Members of Congress and their staffers read when confronted with an Indian law question, check out some of these CRS reports, now starting to appear online.

Indian Reserved Water Rights: An Overview (2005)

United States v. Lara (2003)

IGRA: Gaming on Newly Acquired Lands (2006)

Wagnon v. Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (2005)

Cobell (2005)

Contract Support Costs: Cherokee Nation v. Leavitt (2005)

NAGPRA (2005)

Adam Walsh Act (2007)

Native Hawaiian Recognition (2005)

There are more reports at http://www.opencrs.com/