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DLN Issues : Burial and Repatriation

North Point

http://www.argusleader.com
August 2, 2002

Editorials/Opinion: "Sacred sites bill is step in right direction"

Argus Leader Editorial Board

"A bill before the U.S. House would not solve all problems with sacred Native American sites, but it would be a good start.

U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., has introduced the Native American Sacred Lands Act, which would put President Bill Clinton's 1996 executive order into law.

In essence, it would order federal agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service to work closer with tribes on the use of public lands. It also would allow tribes to petition agencies to place certain lands off-limits to some uses, such as energy leasing.

If approved, the law would work along with the National Historic Preservation Act and the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act.

The Graves and Repatriation Act, in particular, came under fire recently in South Dakota, when human remains and funerary objects were found during construction at the North Point Public Recreation Area near Pickstown. The Yankton Sioux Tribe filed a lawsuit in federal court over how the find was handled - and over the meager preparations made for digging in the first place.

As the tribe noted in its lawsuit, the so-called Missouri River Trench is one of the richest archaeological areas in the nation, but neither state nor U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials contacted the tribe in advance to determine if there might be burial areas near the digging. The tribe knew quite well that there were.

Rahall's bill might not be the answer to the problems. But it at least starts the discussion. What we're doing now certainly doesn't work."

© Copyright 2002 Argus Leader.

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