The Road to Repatriation

The National Museum of the American Indian works with Native Tribes to bring sacred artifacts home again

  • By Kenneth R. Fletcher
  • Smithsonian.com, November 25, 2008, Subscribe
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Sacred Apache artifacts
For decades, Native American groups requested the return of artifacts and human remains. Though there were occasional repatriations, the protests either fell on deaf ears or tribes lacked the financial and legal support necessary to complete the process. (Terry Snowball / NMAI)

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A recent dispute erupted when the Saginaw Chippewa tribe requested the remains of about 400 individuals in the University of Michigan’s collection. “In our teachings and spirituality, our life journey is not complete until our bones are fully given back to the earth from which we were formed,” says Shannon Martin, director of the tribe’s Ziibiwing cultural center. “For them to be unearthed, disturbed and in boxes on shelves goes against all of our beliefs.”

But the remains, which are between 800 and 1,400 years old, are not affiliated with any particular tribe and are legally required to stay in the university’s collection.

“The Saginaw Chippewa are relatively latecomers into the region, so there is no way they actually have any relationship to the remains,” says John O’Shea, a University of Michigan anthropology professor. He says the large population represented in the remains has “tremendous research value.” Current regulations do not allow the university to give them to the Saginaw Chippewa in order to “preclude any irreversible change in the state of the remains,” O’Shea says. “Lots of different tribes have a potential interest in the remains.”

But the tribe says they have the support of the alliance of all the federally recognized tribes in Michigan, which would prevent any conflict between tribes. Martin says other institutions have given them similar unaffiliated remains, which the tribe buried in an ancestral graveyard.

“In their eyes, history starts when the Europeans laid eyes on us,” Martin says. “They don’t recognize that we had strong alliances, migration and trade before European contact.”

Despite occasional clashes between federal regulations, museums and tribal beliefs, repatriation laws have helped give Native Americans back many of their treasured objects. Riley, the White Mountain Apache, recalls how less than a century ago Apache territory was part of a military base and Native Americans were dismissed as savages and struggled for the right to vote. Repatriation from museum collections was unlikely.

“We were heard but never really understood. Just like the broken treaties,” he says. “Finally the passage of NAGPRA is helping us repatriate our ancestors.”


In August 2007, 38 sacred Apache objects traveled from the National Museum of the American Indian’s collection in Maryland to Arizona. The shipping crates featured breathing holes for the masks and revered artifacts inside, which Apaches believe are alive. Before sending them off, a medicine man blessed them with yellow pollen, a holy element that fosters connection with the creator.

After a ceremony at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Apache elders returned the objects to sacred mountains and sites in the Southwest where they believe the spirits reside.

This transfer was one of thousands that have taken place since a series of federal laws in 1989 and 1990 compelled museums to work with Native American tribes across the country in repatriating human remains and sacred objects.

For the Apache, the return of these objects from museum storage to their native soil restores a balance that was thrown off more than a century ago when collectors and archaeologists started stockpiling Indian artifacts.

“The elders told us that they need to come home out of respect,” says Vincent Randall, a Yavapai-Apache who works on repatriation issues. “Otherwise the consequences of fooling around with these things are alcoholism, suicide, domestic violence and all of society’s woes.”

Masks and headdresses are the physical embodiment of spirits for the Apache, so bringing them home is crucial for Native Tribes.

“Once they are created through the instruction of the almighty and are blessed, they become a living entity,” Randall says. “They still have that power. That’s why it’s very potent. We don’t fool around with them.”

Most museum and private collections date back to the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries when the U.S. government moved Native Americans onto reservations. At the time, many scientists wanted to document a culture they believed was vanishing. As both scientists and looters amassed artifacts and human remains in a frenzy of collecting, Native American leaders believe they lost part of their culture.

But far from being the last remnants of an extinct people, some of these artifacts are still integral components of living cultures. Having bones and sacred objects in storage in museums is an affront to Native beliefs.

“Museums and other people think of this as science, something that is not real. They think of them as objects and images that are nothing but artwork,” says Ramon Riley, a White Mountain Apache leader who works on repatriation. “It causes pain to tribal members and our leaders. That is something that only we understand.”

For decades, Native American groups requested the return of these objects and human remains. Though there were occasional repatriations, the protests either fell on deaf ears or tribes lacked the financial and legal support necessary to complete the process.

After lobbying from Native groups, Congress passed the National Museum of the American Indian Act in 1989, which covers the Smithsonian’s collections. It was followed by the 1990 passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which covers all museums and agencies that receive federal funds.

The laws require facilities to offer inventories of all their Native American artifacts to federally recognized tribes in the United States. Human remains, along with and funerary and sacred objects that can be linked to a specific tribe must be repatriated upon request. Grants are available to pay for the travel and research necessary for repatriation. As of 2006, about the remains of about 32,000 individuals had been repatriated under NAGPRA, along with nearly 800,000 objects.

The National Museum of the American Indian has a special field office to take care of repatriation. They have returned about 2,700 artifacts to communities across the Western Hemisphere, from Alaska to Chile. The Smithsonian Institution pays for visits to collections at the repatriation office near Washington, D.C., after which Native leaders can file a formal request. Researchers go through all available resources and may consult with Native experts to determine if the tribe has a relationship with the requested material. If approved, the museum then makes arrangements for returning the objects.

While most museums are extremely accommodating, tribal leaders say contentious issues sometimes arise about which objects are covered by the laws. They say tribal elders know better what should be returned to a tribe than reports by archaeologists and anthropologists.

“The elders have a strong spiritual foundation,” says Randall of the Yavapai-Apache tribe. “The museums use the written word as their bible and we use the real living authorities, which are the elders.”

A recent dispute erupted when the Saginaw Chippewa tribe requested the remains of about 400 individuals in the University of Michigan’s collection. “In our teachings and spirituality, our life journey is not complete until our bones are fully given back to the earth from which we were formed,” says Shannon Martin, director of the tribe’s Ziibiwing cultural center. “For them to be unearthed, disturbed and in boxes on shelves goes against all of our beliefs.”

But the remains, which are between 800 and 1,400 years old, are not affiliated with any particular tribe and are legally required to stay in the university’s collection.

“The Saginaw Chippewa are relatively latecomers into the region, so there is no way they actually have any relationship to the remains,” says John O’Shea, a University of Michigan anthropology professor. He says the large population represented in the remains has “tremendous research value.” Current regulations do not allow the university to give them to the Saginaw Chippewa in order to “preclude any irreversible change in the state of the remains,” O’Shea says. “Lots of different tribes have a potential interest in the remains.”

But the tribe says they have the support of the alliance of all the federally recognized tribes in Michigan, which would prevent any conflict between tribes. Martin says other institutions have given them similar unaffiliated remains, which the tribe buried in an ancestral graveyard.

“In their eyes, history starts when the Europeans laid eyes on us,” Martin says. “They don’t recognize that we had strong alliances, migration and trade before European contact.”

Despite occasional clashes between federal regulations, museums and tribal beliefs, repatriation laws have helped give Native Americans back many of their treasured objects. Riley, the White Mountain Apache, recalls how less than a century ago Apache territory was part of a military base and Native Americans were dismissed as savages and struggled for the right to vote. Repatriation from museum collections was unlikely.

“We were heard but never really understood. Just like the broken treaties,” he says. “Finally the passage of NAGPRA is helping us repatriate our ancestors.”


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Comments (9)

Actually, I believe the reason why such an act was able to pass in the 1990s is because the Anasazi and other Ancestral Puebloan people have been traced to contemporaneous tribes. Archaeologists actually helped prove that the Southwestern ruins are not of a "lost civilization" but of the ancestors of American Indians who still live today. All American Indian remains should be returned to the tribes. Who would want their own ancestor's body on exhibit in a museum? I sincerely hope though that the tribes recognize the inherent value in sharing their culture, and that they place some of these artifacts in their own tribal museums. I also hope that this act helps to forge partnerships between archaeologists and the native community so that together they can better analyze the culture of our prehistoric Americans.

Posted by Meghan on September 9,2009 | 07:03 PM

Native American artifacts should be given back to the elders of the varioius tribes as they know the meaning to their ancestry not some archeaologist or anthropologit. On the other hand the bones due not necessarily belong to the various tribes as the Anasazi and others were here long before the Federally recognized tribes. The first Natives are not part of any living tribe.

Posted by Robin on April 17,2009 | 12:52 PM

Native American cultural objects removed without the permission of the tribes ought to be returned. Pure and simple, they do not belong to those who took them. That said however, when the tribes get back everything and there is no improvement in tribal situations, what will that say about their beliefs? Pragmatically, pretty much the same thing it says about every other "belief" system in the world, regardless of the ethnic tradition, heritage or culture involved. The pointless and empty promises of those involved in promulgating "belief systems." Absence of evidence may not be considered evidence of absence... but it's the best thing there is. What else can be considered such evidence?

Posted by Jason Ley on April 7,2009 | 10:49 PM

I'm so glad to see this come about.Praise goes to everyone who helped give back what always belonged to the American Indians.I understand why they were taken but I don't think anyone had the right to steal.Now if they had asked that would be a whole different matter and I doubt the American Indians would have, so ,the white people stole.How are they going to payback.This is a start.Very late but it's a start.The Gods are happier.Whichever one you follow they are smiling.Peace

Posted by Lisa on April 5,2009 | 12:19 AM

Give back to the First Americans all that is theirs. When they have their rightful religious artifacts and the remains of their ancestors then those that wish to study the diverse cultures of the First Ones may then with humility ask for permission and blessings from these ancient people. Make good for theugliness of the past.

Posted by Jim on April 5,2009 | 05:42 PM

I think ALL native artifacts should be returned to the tribal leaders regardless of what John O'Shea says! He can not be a fair judge because he has a vested interest in what he call "tremendous research value"! The bottom line is if these were remains of anglos they would be treated very differently!! By the way Irish-German, French-German, but I want fair treatment for everyone, especially the first Americans!

Posted by Susan on April 5,2009 | 04:24 PM

This is just more of their failed culture, it's a shame what they have done to themselves. Refusal to move forward has made so many of these Indian families live in poverty.

Posted by Michael on April 5,2009 | 02:17 PM

The Native American are the first Americans!!!! They should have rights to remains and artifacts! The only one with rights.

Posted by Shelly on February 22,2009 | 04:59 PM

I think the Native Americans should have the rights to all the remains. I was glad to read this. I had no idea this was happening.

Posted by Nancy Raabe on February 15,2009 | 08:45 AM



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