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The University of North Dakota plans to begin returning Native American ancestral remains to their tribes starting this year, The Grand Forks Herald reported.
The university has spent about two years cataloging the remains in its possession in collaboration with affected tribes to comply with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, a federal law passed in 1990.
ProPublica reported that, more than three decades after the passage of the law, the remains of more than 100,000 people have yet to be returned to tribes by universities, museums and other institutions. However, the remains of about 18,800 Native American ancestors were returned in 2023, the most since the law was passed.
University of North Dakota officials have reportedly contacted 49 tribes that could be affiliated with the remains in its possession, obtained through archaeological work and donations to the university. The university is expected to soon start consultations with those tribes regarding the remains, according to the Herald.
The university started a search in January 2022 to determine if it possessed objects or remains that should go back to tribes in accordance with the law. The Herald reported in August 2022 that the university found around 250 boxes of sacred objects and the remains of roughly 70 ancestors, though that wasn’t a full inventory.
Andrew Armacost, president of the university, told the Herald that the university has offered guidance to other institutions embarking on the repatriation process.
“There’s often interplay between federal and state law, and then also tribal sovereignty, as well, and that interplay is complicated,” he said. “Our team has really worked hard to understand how that process works, and how repatriation should happen.”
