Kim:

Per the Native Americans Grave Protection and Repatriation Act, any
recovered remains that may be Native American should be turned over to
the State for identification and if appropriate repatriation to the most
appropriate group of Indians.   In Georgia that is the Department of
Natural Resources.  Please ask the lady to call me at the Georgia Parks
and Historic Sites Preservation Lab (770-389-7812).  I can put her in
contact with our State Archaeologist who will advise us on how best to
handle this situation or refer her to his counterpart in another state
if that is more appropriate.  With the Georgia State Archaeologist's
consent I can also hold the remains in our secured collection storage
facility until repatriation and disposition is agreed upon.  I would not
suggest that she transfer the remains to her uncle, especially if he
intends to exhibit them in his museum.  That is liable to get him in a
peck of trouble with State and Federal authorities and the Native
American community.  The State Archaeologist's Office in each state and
the NAGPRA regulations are set up to handle situations like this in a
manner that accords to the remains the same respect and dignity that the
living person deserved.  I will be more than happy to work with the lady
to resolve this matter.  

Linda Bitley
Curator of Collections
Georgia Parks and Historic Sites
770-389-7812
[log in to unmask]



>>> [log in to unmask] 04/27/05 11:10 AM >>>
Kimberly,

All legalities aside (and it sounds murky as to whether it was 
"legally" excavated or not) I personally would not want to see an 
infant's skeleton form a native american context on exhibit in any 
museum.

The most ethical approach that I would advise is to consult an 
anthropologist as to the culture or tribal group based on the bowl, and

then make contact with that group to arrange a respectful return and 
reburial of the remains.

As many on the list know in the USA that native american human remains

are an extremely sensitive and political issue - and I would think that

an infant's remains to be doubly so. So I would advise this to be 
handled with great sensitivity and respect.

I do know that when any human remains are found in excavation that 
there is often a legal requirement for the authorities to make a 
determination as to whether the remains are recent or historical before

they can be removed. I remember this happening when our archaeological

field crew was excavating a 1620's skeleton in Virginia. The state 
SHIPPOS also require a research design to be submitted for any 
excavations of human remains from any sites over which they have 
purview. The legal requirements may vary widely from locale to locale 
and if the remains came form private, state, or federal lands.

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Conservator
Los Angeles, California  USA

-----Original Message-----
From: Kimberly Kenney, Curator <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] 
Sent:         Wed, 27 Apr 2005 07:25:30 -0700
Subject: Native American bowl and bones

   Hello,

I just had a woman call me who has in her possession a
Native American bowl that appears to have an infant's
skeleton in a baggie inside it.  Her mother excavated
it herself in the late 1940s or early 1950s.  She
believes the two were together at the time her mother
found it.

The mother has since died, and the caller wanted some
advice on what to do with the bowl and bones.

She described it to me as an oval shaped, plain brown
clay bowl, which is broken.  She believes her mother
found it in either southern Ohio or Georgia.

I asked if she was certain that it was a Native
American piece -- she said her mother was an active
collector and knew a great deal about the subject.
However, she did not leave any information about the
bowl.

The caller said she believed her mother had taken it
to a Native American museum in Macon, GA for
evaluation, but she did not donate it.  Her brother
(the caller's uncle) was also a Native American
collector and started his own museum in Michigan.

The caller doesn't want the bowl and bones, but she
didn't want to just throw them away, which is why she
called us.  Since our mission is to collect artifacts
from Stark County, Ohio and President McKinley, it
certainly doesn't fit into our Mission.  I am also
unfamiliar with laws and regulations about the
posession of remains, since it has never been an issue
at our museum.

So I told her I would post to all of you, and get her
some information about who she can contact regarding
the bowl and bones.

Thank you!
Kim Kenney

Kimberly A. Kenney, Curator
Wm. McKinley Presidential Library & Museum
800 McKinley Monument Dr. NW
Canton OH 44708 * 330-455-7043
Visit the Ohio Memory Project at http://www.ohiomemory.org 

* NEW EXHIBIT:  "Made in Canton" will be on view through July 24, 2005

* CONFERENCE:  Help us "Celebrate Canton!" at our special conference 
April 29-30
See our website for more details:  http://www.mckinleymuseum.org 

"Let us ever remember that our interests are in concord, not conflict;

and that
our real eminence rests in the victories of peace, not those of war." 

-- 25th
United States President William McKinley





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Linda Bitley
Curator of Collections
Georgia Parks & Historic Sites
2600 Hwy 155, SW
Stockbridge, GA 30281
T:  770-389-7812
F:  770-389-7813
E:  [log in to unmask]

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