"Burial grounds are due respect, regardless of who is buried at the site. You can bet the government wouldn’t try to unearth and remove the remains of folks buried in any Christian church cemetery without working closely from day one with descendents or church members.

But government agencies, including the South Florida Water Management District and the Army Corps of Engineers, failed to treat Indians remains uncovered in the Everglades with equivalent respect. As The Post’s Christine Stapleton reported, archaeologists and engineers working on flood-control projects in the Everglades uncovered partial remains.

The Seminole and Miccosukee tribes had the impression that only a few bones were found, which would be carefully removed and reburied appropriately. But the scientists eventually recovered remains from 56 individuals. Representatives from the tribes were not included in weekly meetings with government agencies in which they could have learned the truth. The remains were uncovered starting in 2008, but the tribes did not find out the scope until May 2010."

Get the Story:
The Opinion Zone: Should state rebury Indian tribe ancestors’ bones? (The Palm Beach Post 9/9)

Also Today:
Tribes, state near pact on re-installation, protection of sacred burial ground (The Palm Beach Post 9/6)