Science: Some Bones of Contention

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The complaints of American Indians have special poignancy. The culture of these conquered people was long regarded as inferior. When 19th century scientists first began to unearth the huge, artfully built prehistoric mounds found in abundance throughout the Midwest, they refused to believe that America's surviving Indians were the descendants of people who had such engineering skill. Some of this scientific racism still torments the Indian psyche. Walter Lara, 47, a leader in the Yuroks' fight for the return of the bones, says, "We're not property, and neither are our ancestors. Archaeologists don't dig up George Washington's body and put it on a shelf. But they do have the skull of one of our leaders, Captain Jack, sitting in a glass case in the Smithsonian."*

For their part, scientists fear that the action in Sacramento is only the first step in a systematic assault against other private and public Indian collections. Many also perceive an antiscientific bias in the Indians' campaign and a broader threat to all free inquiry. U.C.L.A. Archaeologist Clement Meighan, who is the chairman of a recently formed committee seeking to overturn the state's decision in the courts, even invokes the image of China's Cultural Revolution, during which centers of learning were shut down and scholars exiled to the countryside to do menial labor. Says Meighan: "Since many of these bones are over 2,000 years old, it's hard to imagine how any Indian in California can trace lineal descent [from them]."

Other archaeologists take a more sympathetic view of the Indians' aroused racial pride. Indeed, some are making a special effort to cooperate with Indian leaders. Under an agreement with the Sioux tribal council, for example, archaeologists have pledged to return after two years of study any bones removed from the newly discovered site of a massacre that took place at Crow Creek, S. Dak., 600 years ago. California's directive, though, contains no provision for negotiation or compromise: the Indians will be able to reclaim and rebury any bones and burial goods in the state collection.

Unfortunately, much of this archaeological treasure—371 skeletal remains and more than 100,000 artifacts, including jewelry, tools and musical instruments—has barely been studied, especially not with the latest analytical tools for dating, identifying and interpreting ancient fragments. It is hard not to wonder what secrets remain in this rich legacy left by America's first settlers. Curator Riddell hardly seems to be exaggerating when he warns: "In reburying this collection, we are unwittingly assisting the Indians in destroying their past." —By Frederic Golden. Reported by Alessandra Stanley/Patrick's Point