Today is Monday, July 22, 2024.
The federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, passed in 1990, aimed to get remains back to tribes and pueblos. But many museums still have remains today. In fact, the University of New Mexico’s Maxwell Museum as of last year, had the 33rd-largest collection of unrepatriated Native American remains in the U.S., according to a ProPublica database.
When we heard the museum still had the remains of at least 500 Native Americans, we sent reporter Rodd Cayton to find out:
- Why did they obtain the remains in the first place?
- Why have the remains not yet been returned?
- What are the museum’s plans going forward?
Related: Reporter Elizabeth McCall last week wrote about how local tribal leaders scored a win and will now have their voices included in discussions about future city developments. Find out more about how legislation from City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn made that happen.
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A UNM museum has remains of more than 500 Native Americans. Returning them to their rightful homes is not so easy.
None of the remains are on display or used for research
By Rodd Cayton
The remains of more than 500 Native Americans at a local museum have yet to be made available for return to their tribes. But representatives of the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico said they have repatriated many other remains in the collection and they are working with tribal officials in the state and elsewhere to return more to […]
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