If you dig up one white person, you go to prison; if you dig up 100 Indians,....

[Gypsy Heart]

..........You get a PH.D




Ancient American Indian remains in limbo in S.C.
S.C. tribes want remains, but federal rules are roadblock
By JAMES T. HAMMOND

The remains of hundreds of ancient people once buried in South Carolina continue to be stored in archives across the state five years after their existence was made public — despite efforts by tribal groups to recover and rebury them.

One set of remains stored by federal officials at the Savannah River Site might be as many as 6,000 years old, said Barbara Morningstar Paul, the state program coordinator for Native American Affairs.

Leaders of tribes with people still living in South Carolina want the human remains returned to tribal groups for reburial. Most American Indians believe the spirits of the dead cannot rest as long as their remains are removed from the earth.

But the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act has created a bureaucratic maze for tribal groups seeking to recover and rebury the long-dead ancestors.

H.L. West, the recently elected chief of the 466-member Waccamaw tribe, said every tribal group in the state is cooperating to obtain the release of their ancestors’ bones.

“That’s unusual, to have all the tribes working toward a common cause,” he said. “They are our people, our kin. Our people buried their dead sitting upright, with their knees under their chins. Some of these remains were found in that condition.”

State archaeologist Jonathan Leader has custody of remains of more than 300 individuals unearthed at different times and under varying circumstances.

Tribal leaders say Leader has worked diligently to cut through federal regulations to allow repatriation of the ancient bones. But his hands are tied by federal law.

More than a dozen of the individuals were disinterred in 1967 when Duke Power Co. cleared the site for the Keowee-Toxaway lake complex, according to state records. Those remains are estimated to have originated between A.D. 800 and 1500.

Leader said the scope of the state’s holdings of native people’s remains has changed little since their existence was made public five years ago. He said publicity about the issue has made some entities, such as governments and private contractors, more sensitive about avoiding unearthing more burial sites. But many of the remains that are in bureaucratic limbo have been held by the state for decades.

“A great deal has changed,” Leader said. “We are all working together to find a solution. But we go down some paths that are dead ends. It does not help that we do not have a full set of regulations.”

Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, anyone possessing the remains of ancient people can only repatriate them to a federally recognized tribe.

In South Carolina, there is just one federally recognized group, the Catawba tribe, based in Rock Hill. But there are 25 groups or tribes claiming status as native people in South Carolina. Six tribal groups were removed from S.C. territory more than a century ago, and might have claims on the remains as well.

Paul said the Catawba authorities “are willing to help re-inter the remains” of members of all the groups.

“For the first time in many years, unity among the tribes in South Carolina, and with the Catawba, is allowing us to move forward,” said Paul, who works within the state Commission on Minority Affairs.

“I hope we may have repatriation and reinterment within a couple of years.”

Meanwhile, the ancient people’s bones remain stored in boxes at state and federal office buildings and in a museum.

American Indians continue to be cautious about dealings with white-led governments.

“There’s an old Indian saying, ‘If you dig up one white person, you go to prison; if you dig up 100 Indians, you get a Ph.D.,’” West said.

But he said he believes progress is being made
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate...=thestate_news

[jeff of pa]

this opinion has one big Flaw.

IF you dig 100 White People who were here in AD 800
you won't go to jail, You would be a Hero.

and I doubt most White People would Complain.

It's only an Ethinc thing because the Indians want it to be one.

[Gypsy Heart]

Actually....I would love to see a white person found buried who was here in AD 800.....that would rock the history books!

[jeff of pa]

Actually....I would love to see a white person found buried who was here in AD 800.....that would rock the history books!

Absolutely

[bean man]

Hi gypsyheart,
Here's what I think. We should have more respect for these ancient peoples. When remains are found, they should be quickly studied and returned
to a tribal committee made up of all the tribes. Then the remains should be returned to the earth in a place where they will not get disturbed ever
again.
bm

[Gypsy Heart]

Hi gypsyheart,
Here's what I think. We should have more respect for these ancient peoples. When remains are found, they should be quickly studied and returned
to a tribal committee made up of all the tribes. Then the remains should be returned to the earth in a place where they will not get disturbed ever
again.
bm

Absolutely correct!

[papa]

I know this will open a can of worms,but, what if we (people of Indian blood) wanted to dig up a "White Man's grave site" to "study" and put the remains in boxes for future reference ?

[jeff of pa]

I know this will open a can of worms,but, what if we (people of Indian blood) wanted to dig up a "White Man's grave site" to "study" and put the remains in boxes for future reference ?

I say Box in a Drawer Versus a Box in the Ground. I'd figure My bones will last longer in a Drawer.

Of course I'm still trying to Get me Stuffed & Mounted when I die.
Maby Holding my Minelab

or Frozen till they find a cure for Death :P

[papa]

Jeff, don't waste a good piece of equipment,send the minelab to me.I promise it will be put to good use

[jeff of pa]

Jeff, don't waste a good piece of equipment,send the minelab to me.I promise it will be put to good use

you got it papa.

Of course with any luck on my part,
it will be an Antique by then :P

[diggummup]

I think the point is,the archaeologist should not have to store these bones in a drawer for years on end just to satisfy his own means.I mean how many years does it take to "study" these remains? Gimme a break! I'd be a little PO'd too if it were my ancestors.Just another prime example of an archie puffing his chest out.Give 'em an ounce of authority and they think they own the world! I say,have a little respect and return them to their respective peoples for proper burials.Time's up!

[papa]

Diggumup,You, at the very least,deserve a "Dream Catcher" for your comments.

[deepsix47]

Hi:

The age of the bones (using C-14 dating) was 8000 and 8500 BP. I'm curious as to why you say they were Caucasian??
Deepsix

[diggummup]

I do believe that is still up for debate.Did they ever do a DNA analysis?

[deepsix47]

DNA testing was done but was inconclusive.
Deepsix

[Oroblanco]

a white person found buried who was here in AD 800

Not that much rocking of the world, as we know Leif Erikson's brother Thorvald died and was buried in America around 1002 AD; it is possible Norse visitors arrived earlier, plus St Brendan is thought by some to have reached American shores in the 500s AD.


Oroblanco

PS A side note here but for those who hold to the Amerindian origins being all Asiatic, look up Haplogroup X DNA test results, at least SOME Amerindians absolutely do have European roots.

[TreasureTales]

I'm all for respecting the graves of ALL peoples. Archaeologists are hypocrites in my book. The average guy would be jailed for digging up a grave, especially an Indian grave(see the US Antiquities Act), but the archies do it all the time and think it is their RIGHT or PRIVILEGE or DUTY to do so. Screw 'em. As soon as Duke Power exposed the graves, the archaeologists should have contacted the appropriate tribes and helped them rebury the remains. To do otherwise is disrespectful, insensitive, and unnecessary. How many bones to these guys need to study? They already have thousands of human remains in various museums, labs, and research facilities all across this county.

As far as Kennewick Man, I've read that there have been at least 5 skulls found THROUGHOUT the US that have been dated to be 9,000+ years old and that have European characteristics. Maybe I should be able to open a casino and not pay any taxes on the profits!!!!

My own opinion is that the more intrusive the government is in every thing, the more every thing gets screwed up. Whatever happened to the concept of being honorable?

[stoney56]

Treasure Tales & bean man, I agree 100% with you. Any archaeologist that doesn't respect the tribes rights shouldn't be allowed to continue till they go back and get an A+ in Humanities. With all the computer enhanced technology, it shouldn't take them more than a week to get all the info they need off the remains.

[Oroblanco]

You know the state of American archaeology has become almost a farce too - there was a dig in the midwest done by the Smithsonian which they shut down when they found some grave goods and knew they were about to uncover human remains. The reason for not finishing the dig, they actually admitted in public? They knew the remains would be "of the wrong race"! A recent special on satellite TV was very interesting, if you get a chance to see it I recommend it - "Ice Age Columbus" - yep people were able to cross the big ponds in ancient times folks, and for proof every land that could support humans was already peopled when first "Discovered" by the Europeans of the Age of Discovery, including Easter Island which is arguably the most remote spot on the planet, yet here too people had arrived nearly two thousand years ago.

Mrs Oro wrote
How many skeletons do you need?
All of them, apparently; this is something I don't understand - the digs currently being done on Nazca people for instance, they have representatives of the population but continue to dig up every one they find, "to protect them from the looters" - well the looters don't usually take the human remains.

People buy cemetary lots and nice caskets and think that will be their resting place for eternity, well think again - even now they are digging up and moving a century-old cemetary in Tucson, and if you are so "lucky" as to remain un-disturbed for longer, you can bet that one day you will be dug up and placed in a museum.

Oroblanco, stepping off the soap box

[stoney56]

"People buy cemetary lots and nice caskets and think that will be their resting place for eternity, well think again - even now they are digging up and moving a century-old cemetary in Tucson, and if you are so "lucky" as to remain un-disturbed for longer, you can bet that one day you will be dug up and placed in a museum."

I guess that means I should go back to my final arrangements and uncheck the Perpetual Care option.