Post by carlo on Aug 15, 2011 14:02:55 GMT -5
Article in the Rapid City Journal from last Friday, August 12, 2011:
National Park Service prepares to return prehistoric bones to Oglala Sioux Tribe
Unless another tribe claims them before Sept. 17, the bones of two prehistoric Native Americans found in Badlands National Park will be returned to the Oglala Sioux Tribe for burial.
One set of the human remains was found in 1958 and has been in the park's possession, originally as a museum exhibit, since 1959. The other set was unearthed from White Butte in Pennington County in 2002. Both are believed to be prehistoric remains, according to archaeologists.
The 2002 remains were removed from the site and placed in the collections storage facility in Badlands National Park for protection after consultation with a Tribal Historic Preservation Office. Evidence of an upright stone altar and a stone ring lodge were thought to be associated with the human remains, believed to be those of a middle-aged Native American male. No known individuals were identified.
After a detailed assessment of the bones, in consultation with tribes in South Dakota and North Dakota, national park officials determined the "preponderance of the evidence shows that the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation has a stronger cultural relationship." Under the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, both sets of remains will be returned to the tribe.
The bones found in 1958, believed to be the remains of a young male in his teens or 20s, had been part of the park museum's collection, but in 1997 efforts to return them to a tribe began. No one claimed the bones after notification was published in 2001, said Megan Cherry, museum technician at Badlands National Park.
"Now that the Oglala Sioux Tribe has made a request, we can finally repatriate the remains," she said.
Human occupation of the Badlands National Park area is believed to date back approximately 11,000 years. The archaeological record and oral traditions indicate that the Arikara people camped in the secluded valleys of Badlands National Park year round. Eroding out of the stream banks today are the rocks and charcoal of their campfires. About 150 years ago, the Great Sioux Nation displaced many of the other tribes from the northern prairie.
Representatives of any other Native American tribe or Native Hawaiian organization that wish to claim ownership or control of the human remains can contact Badland's superintendent Eric J. Brunnemann before Sept. 17. Disposition of human remains to the Oglala Sioux Tribe may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
Read more: rapidcityjournal.com/news/national-park-service-prepares-to-return-prehistoric-bones-to-oglala/article_8e32173c-c4a9-11e0-92db-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1V7plZ51V
National Park Service prepares to return prehistoric bones to Oglala Sioux Tribe
Unless another tribe claims them before Sept. 17, the bones of two prehistoric Native Americans found in Badlands National Park will be returned to the Oglala Sioux Tribe for burial.
One set of the human remains was found in 1958 and has been in the park's possession, originally as a museum exhibit, since 1959. The other set was unearthed from White Butte in Pennington County in 2002. Both are believed to be prehistoric remains, according to archaeologists.
The 2002 remains were removed from the site and placed in the collections storage facility in Badlands National Park for protection after consultation with a Tribal Historic Preservation Office. Evidence of an upright stone altar and a stone ring lodge were thought to be associated with the human remains, believed to be those of a middle-aged Native American male. No known individuals were identified.
After a detailed assessment of the bones, in consultation with tribes in South Dakota and North Dakota, national park officials determined the "preponderance of the evidence shows that the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation has a stronger cultural relationship." Under the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, both sets of remains will be returned to the tribe.
The bones found in 1958, believed to be the remains of a young male in his teens or 20s, had been part of the park museum's collection, but in 1997 efforts to return them to a tribe began. No one claimed the bones after notification was published in 2001, said Megan Cherry, museum technician at Badlands National Park.
"Now that the Oglala Sioux Tribe has made a request, we can finally repatriate the remains," she said.
Human occupation of the Badlands National Park area is believed to date back approximately 11,000 years. The archaeological record and oral traditions indicate that the Arikara people camped in the secluded valleys of Badlands National Park year round. Eroding out of the stream banks today are the rocks and charcoal of their campfires. About 150 years ago, the Great Sioux Nation displaced many of the other tribes from the northern prairie.
Representatives of any other Native American tribe or Native Hawaiian organization that wish to claim ownership or control of the human remains can contact Badland's superintendent Eric J. Brunnemann before Sept. 17. Disposition of human remains to the Oglala Sioux Tribe may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
Read more: rapidcityjournal.com/news/national-park-service-prepares-to-return-prehistoric-bones-to-oglala/article_8e32173c-c4a9-11e0-92db-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1V7plZ51V