jdmann@cdp.uucp (Daavid Yarrow) (10/22/89)
Source: Syracuse Herald, Tuesday, Oct 17 by Elizabeth C. Petros
MOHAWKS SEEK SKELETAL REMAINS FROM NYS
ST. REGIS INDIAN RESERVATION, NY - Now that 12 wampum belts from the
NYS Museum are on their way back to Onondaga Nation, the museum is
negociating with another member of the Iroquois Confederacy.
Mohawks on the St. Regis Reservation near Massena have requested return
of a collection of 400 year old skeletal remains that have been stored at
the museum since 1968. The bones - part of the remains of 16 to 18 members
of the Mohawk tribe - were unearthed during an archaeological dig in
Montgomery County, said museum director Martin Sullivan. The remains have
not been displayed since the late 1970s, but rather were "quietly and
respectfully maintained" in a secure area of the museum, Sullivan said.
Nonetheless Mohawks have other ideas for the ancestral skeletons. "We
have respect for our dead; they should be in the ground where they
belong," said Chief Jake Swamp. Swamp said the bones would be given proper
ceremony and buried at the traditional Longhouse cemetery on Cornwall
Island. The Board of Regents, which governs the facility, may agree to the
release even though the bones were never examined in detail because the
museum doesn't have a biologist who specializes in skeletal remains.
"The museum recognizes that while there may be great value in
conducting research, there isn't an inherent right to conduct such
research," Sullivan said. By ordering a comprehensive examination using
state-of-the-art techniques, scientists could determine the age, sex and
diets of the subjects, including what diseases were prevalent at the time
and the nature of their work, he said, adding that the findings would be
shared with current Mohawk leaders.
That will have to be discussed in greater detail, Swamp said, because
it would further delay return of the remains that have already been in the
museum for 21 years. "Why didn't they study them before?" he said. "They
certainly have had enough time."
The Mohawks have been aware of the existence of the remains for several
months, Swamp said, but is was not until earlier this summer that he
traveled to Albany to formally present the tribe's case.
The chief said he was encouraged by the museum's recent decision to
return wampum belts to the Onondagas, and by Smithsonian Institute, which
developed a policy governing return of remains and religious artifacts.
"We've become more vocal across the country and I think they're being
pressured by their own people," Swamp said.
Sullivan, too, said the museum is working on a comprehensive policy
governing return of certain items. Although the Board of Regents would
prefer not to make decisions in any cases until that time, he said the
Mohawk request could be an exception because they are the most recent
bones acquired by the museum and the only ones traced to living
descendants.
=============================================================
COMMENTARY: This reveals remarkable progress in relations between
Indians, the NYS Museum and archaeological professionals. In the past
Iroquois were seldom notified of digs and unearthing of skeletons until
after the dig was closed, if ever. And any remains unearthed were made
property of NYS or museums.
Now, however, NYS is reluctantly recognizing the rights of native
people to these remains and artifacts. This comes along with increasing
recognition of the political soveriegnty and cultural integrity of the
Iroquois in NYS. after 200 years of being simply ignored and discounted,
native people speaking up in today's climate of human rights are being
heard and helped. And as Jake Swamp points out, there is considerable
pressure on the Board of Regents from sympathetic whites.
This is your invitation to make your pressure felt. Write to:
NYS Regents, Dept. of Education, Washington St., Albany, NY 12210
===================
- prepared by David Yarrow, the turtle, for SOLSTICE magazine
***** SOLSTICE: Perspectives on Health and Environment, is published
bimonthly at 201 E. Main St Suite H, Charlottesville, VA 22901 804-979-4427
---
Patt Haring | United Nations | Screen Gems in
patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information | misc.headlines.unitex
patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange |
-=- Every child smiles in the same language. -=-