The Oregon State Hospital in Salem. Photo by Katr67 on Wikipedia

The remains of 22 Native American patients at the infamous Oregon State Hospital are being returned to their families for reburial.

The Native remains are among more than 3,500 that were discovered at the institution in 2005. All of the bodies were cremated and placed in urns although some were lost entirely.

The non-Native remains are going to be a part of a memorial that is being dedicated. Officials are still working to connect those patients to their surviving families.

"No one wants to be laid to rest without some kind of acknowledgement that they were here, that they contributed, that they lived,” Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney (D) told the Associated Press.

The hospital was the filming location for the 1975 award-winning film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The novel was narrated by an Indian character, who was portrayed by the late Will Sampson in the film version.

Get the Story:
Oregon mental hospital to honor 'forgotten souls' (AP 7/7)
Missing dead: 1,500 from old Oregon State Hospital cemetery in Salem can't be found (The Oregonian 7/4)