Museum to repatriate bones to Miccosukee Tribe

Friday, February 9, 2007  

The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is repatriating two funerary objects to the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida.

The animal bones were taken from a gravesite in Florida sometime in the early 1900s. They were donated to the museum in 1948 and have been in the museum's possession since then.

Although the two items are being returned, others are still in dispute. The shell ornaments, coins and breastplates have been linked to the Calusa, from whom the Miccosukees and the Seminoles claim as ancestors.

Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, human remains and funerary objects, or items that were associated with remains, are to be returned to culturally-affiliated tribes. The Denver museum has repatriated 10 items as part of its NAGPRA duties.

Get the Story:
Bones of contention go home (The Denver Post 2/9)

Indianz.Com Federal Register:
Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO (February 7, 2007)

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