And now:Sonja Keohane <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
<http://www.billingsgazette.com/wyomingframe.htm>
Tribe requests human remains, burial artifacts from Wyoming
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - Leaders from Montana's Kootenai tribe are expected to
make a claim for human remains and burial artifacts from Wyoming's
archaeological collection, according to University of Wyoming officials.
The tribe is entitled to certain types of items under the federal Native
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
American Indian leaders have said the repatriations will ensure that sacred
objects in museums and university collections are given proper treatment
and respect.
But research scientists and other members of the academic community worry
the repatriations could devastate the university's
internationally-recognized collection. The collection was developed over 20
years and includes about 200 skeletons and burial items spanning a
5,000-year period.
Many archaeologists think some of the remains hold significant prehistoric
clues and should be examined. Losing those items could hurt ongoing
archaeological and other anthropological research, they say.
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