In the Smaller Scope of Conscience: The Struggle for National Repatriation Legislation, 1986–1990

4. The Way of the Coyote

56 chapter four The Way of the Coyote Although consensus on the Indian museum proposal was not achieved before the expiration of the 100th Congress,1 negotiations between the Smithsonian and the Heye Foundation of New York continued.2 Representative Byron Dorgan, apparently frustrated with the retreat on repatriation in other bills, reintroduced a slightly modified version of his Indian Remains Reburial Act on February 27, 1989. Like the earlier version,3 H.R. 1124 directed the secretary of the Smithsonian to determine the tribal origin of some Indian and Native Hawaiian skeletal remains in the Smithsonian collections. Unlike the earlier version, H.R. 1124 pushed applicability of the inventory provisions back one hundred years to include all skeletal remains originating after AD 1500.4 Dorgan recognized that using 1500 as the boundary between the historic and prehistoric periods was merely a convention, but he intended the bill to address the estimated 600 skeletal remains dating to the historic period for which tribal affiliation would be more readily identifiable. He did not intend the arbitrary date to preclude the Smithsonian and Indian tribes from reaching agreements on reburial of human remains originating from earlier periods.5 Dorgan’s frustration with the Smithsonian’s recalcitrance on repatriation was clear in his introductory remarks. “The Smithsonian contends that these remains are of considerable scientific value,” Dorgan explained. “The fact remains that these Native American skeletal remains are being denied proper burial. They’ve already had 100 years to study most of them. Enough is enough.”6 The Way of the Coyote • 57 It May Take One Hundred Years On March 9, the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs held an oversight hearing to gather testimony on a tentative agreement between the Heye Foundation, trustees of the Museum of the American Indian, and the Smithsonian. Representative Ben Nighthorse Campbell from Colorado chaired the hearing, and his introductory remarks focused on recent visits by representatives of the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes of Colorado to the Museum of the American Indian in New York. “They tell me they were amazed and saddened at the same time,” said Campbell. “They saw . . . religious items that belonged to their ancestors, things that no one had seen in a long time. But the sad part,” continued Campbell, “was that these precious items were stored in boxes for no one to appreciate at all.”7 The hearing’s first witness was Secretary of the Smithsonian Robert­ Adams, who did not address the disposition of the Smithsonian skeletal remains in his statement. However, in response to questioning from Campbell, Adams indicated that the repatriation issue was largely extraneous to the Heye Foundation collection because it contained only about a dozen human remains.8 Adams conceded that the disposition of Native American human remains held by the National Museum of Natural History had not been fully resolved, but the Smithsonian was prepared to return any material that could be identified by a clear and unambiguous line with a living Indian descendant. “But I would stress from the point of view of the Smithsonian,” cautioned Adams, “that its collections are valuable scientific material for the study of the past, and we will not willingly and with abandon turn those materials over to people who may not in fact be descendants of the people whose remains we have.”9 Adams did not mention the Cheyenne pipe still lying in a cabinet in the National Museum of Natural History despite the pending claim by the grandson of its owner. On March 16, Julie Johnson Kidd, chairperson of the board of trustees of the American Indian Museum, signed the memorandum of understanding securing appropriate facilities for the American Indian Museum’s collections while fulfilling the purposes of the Heye Trust. The memorandum did not address the disposition of Native American skeletal remains in either the Museum of the American Indian or the Smithsonian collections . Adams signed the memorandum for the Smithsonian on May 8 (see figure 4.1).10 58 • In the Smaller Scope of Conscience Senate action on the agreement came quickly. On May 11, Senator Daniel Inouye introduced S. 978 to establish a National American Indian Museum within the Smithsonian, the provisions of which were closely based on the May 8 agreement.11 In addition, Section 9 required the board of regents of the Smithsonian, in consultation with the board of trustees of the National Museum of the...