University Of North Dakota Finds Dozens Of Native American Remains
The University of North Dakota has started the process of returning Native American ancestors and artifacts to their tribal homes.
Repatriation is required under the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, enacted by Congress in 1990.
UND president Andrew Armacost said the university is still investigating why the remains were not previously returned to tribes. He said they were likely collected by university faculty from the 1940s to the 1980s, and it is unclear how the university used the remains.
“How and why ancestors and sacred items remain on our campus is a mystery that we will have to answer in the course of our work,” he said. “Our intent of sharing this news today is to apologize to tribal nations across North America.”