A New York museum that tribal representatives call one of the worst offenders of federal repatriation law has announced new policies for removing human remains from display cases and said it plans to double down on repatriation efforts for the more than 12,000 individuals it holds in its facility. On Oct. 12, Sean Decantur, the new president of the American Museum of Natural History, announced the policy changes to staff in an open letter. Immediate changes include preparing new storage for the remains in the museum’s collection, and removing human remains—such as human bones, skeletons, mummies, and beads and instruments made from human bones—from 12 display cases.
Cornell University, a private Ivy League institution in upstate New York, is responsible for dispossessing 251 tribal nations from their homelands in its formation, the university said this week.
A tribal judge for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma last week ruled that two lineal descendants of Black people who were enslaved by the tribe, known as Freedmen, are eligible for tribal citizenship. As the Civil War drew closer, the tribe was split; A portion of the Nation allied with the Confederacy and the other allied with the Union.
With the series finale of the hit FX show “Reservation Dogs” this week, several creators and actors of the series joined a livestream event hosted by the Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) on Wednesday to discuss confronting the legacy of Indian boarding schools. The livestreamed event, titled “The Time is Now,” focused on advocacy around the Truth & Healing Commission Bill, legislation that would call for Congress to investigate the federal government’s Indian boarding school policies. In June, the bill unanimously passed the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and awaits a Senate accounting on the cost of implementation.
Carlisle, PA—Tribal nations seeking the return of their children buried at what was once the nation’s flagship Indigenous assimilation institution, the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, may have a new playbook to follow—one that involves the U.S. Army’s cooperation. For the first time this summer, the Army granted the requests of three tribal nations to visit the Carlisle Barracks Post Cemetery—now the site of the U.S. Army War College – to plan for the return of their respective children who were among the nearly 200 who died and were buried while students at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.