The Karl May Museum in Germany is refusing to repatriate a collection of 17 scalps despite a request from tribes in the U.S.

Three of the scalps are currently on public display. A tribal representative called it "inappropriate and unacceptable."

"These are human remains which should be buried respectfully and should never have been taken from the tribe in the first place," Cecil Pavlat, the cultural repatriation specialist for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan, told The Guardian.

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe and other tribes sent a letter to the museum last month, asking for the return of the artifacts.

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German museum in row with US activists over tribal scalps (The Guardian 3/10)