Centuries after Native American remains were dug up, a new law returns them for reburial in Illinois

. It requires the return of human remains and funerary, sacred and cultural objects unearthed in the past 200 years by plows and bulldozers, by archeologists, or by profiteering marauders to the associated tribe.

What the soil produced often ended up in scholarly institutions across the state, from Chicago's Field Museum to Southern Illinois University, as well as the state museum., according to the National Park Service, which administers the repatriation program. And large numbers of remains recovered from Illinois are held by institutions in other states. Nationally, the remains of nearly 209,000 individuals have been reported to the federal government and must be surrendered to descendants.

The law also toughens monetary penalties, including required restitution, for disturbing human remains and items buried with them or for displays — something the Illinois State Museum did at Dickson Mounds in Lewistown, 200 miles southwest of Chicago, before disbanding the feature in 1992. “It can be emotionally taxing. It can be really traumatic to learn about how their ancestors have been studied or how they’ve been housed or how they’ve been cared for or not cared for,” Morgan said.

“The tribes that I talked to — one, specifically, the Cherokee of Oklahoma — said, that is like recreating the Trail of Tears,” said the legislation's sponsor, Rep. Mark Walker, a Democrat from the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights. He was referring to the 1838-39 westward death march which claimed the lives of 4,000 Cherokee.

Matthew Bussler, tribal historic preservation officer for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi in Dowagiac, Michigan, said the practice and ceremony of final rites differs by tribe. Generally, he said, it is critical to see that ancestors are returned “to the womb of Mother Earth” not only so they may continue their journey in the hereafter, but to “redeem all of the pain and the suffering” of their tribe, especially their descendants.

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Centuries after Native American remains were dug up, a new law returns them for reburial in IllinoisNative Americans whose ancestors’ remains ended up held for study in sterile, nondescript boxes on shelves in educational facilities or displayed in cultural locales hope a new Illinois law will speed their recovery for proper reburial in their homeland.
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Centuries after Native American remains were dug up, a new law returns them for reburial in IllinoisIllinois officials and Native Americans whose ancestors called the state home hope a new state law will speed the recovery and reburial of their relatives' remains unearthed over the past two centuries.
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Centuries after Native American remains were dug up, a new law returns them for reburial in IllinoisIllinois officials and Native Americans whose ancestors called the state home hope a new state law will speed the recovery and reburial of their relatives' remains unearthed over the past two centuries
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Centuries after Native American remains were dug up, a new law returns them for reburial in IllinoisIllinois officials and Native Americans whose ancestors called the state home hope a new state law will speed the recovery and reburial of their relatives' remains unearthed over the past two centuries.
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »

Centuries after Native American remains were dug up, a new law returns them for reburial in IllinoisIllinois officials and Native Americans whose ancestors called the state home hope a new state law will speed the recovery and reburial of their relatives' remains unearthed over the past two centuries.
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