US Government-Funded Studies on Native Remains Undermined Repatriation Policy, Report Finds ProPublica’s “Repatriation Project,” research focused on the aftermath of a decades-old U.S. repatriation policy, has revealed that government-funded studies on Native American remains in collections at universities and museums across the country undermined a U.S. law passed three decades ago requiring their return to Indigenous officials. The report, published last week as part of an investigation around cultural repatriation of Indigenous remains in the U.S, examined the extent to which funding provided by U.S. federal agencies for research purposes influenced institutions to continue holding native ancestral remains for scholarly study. The reporting draws from public data cataloging around 100,000 Native American remains currently held in collections spanning museums, universities, and government agencies.
Judge dismisses state lawsuit over liability for contaminated Alaska Native corporation lands. A federal judge has dismissed a year-old lawsuit by the state of Alaska against the federal government over liability for contaminated land given to Alaska Native corporations under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. No Alaska Native corporations or Native groups joined the lawsuit, and in an order published July 18th, Judge Hezekiah Russel Holland found multiple problems with the state’s arguments, ultimately ruling that they should be dismissed.
Those are your headlines at this hour. I’m Colette Keith in the KIPI News Center.
