The long journey of a human skull found in the 1880s, and stored for years at Yellowstone National Park, may soon come to an end.
"
Park officials hope in the coming months to return the skull to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation.
The transfer is part of a nationwide effort over the past 15 years to identify American Indian artifacts being held by federal agencies and return them to tribes. A sheepherder found the skull at his camp northeast of Logan, near Three Forks, according to park records.
W.H. Everson of Bozeman obtained it in 1886 and later sold it to Sen. F.C. Walcott and George Pratt, who donated it to Yellowstone in 1930. The park held onto the skull until a 1990 law required the Park Service and other agencies to begin looking for American Indian artifacts in their collections.
The skull is complete, probably from a female, and includes a single tooth, according to Rosemary Sucec, Yellowstone's cultural anthropologist. There's also a detached lower jaw with six teeth.
It's unclear whether the skull was taken from a burial site, Sucec said.
Everson, in his writings, said he encountered "several lodges of Flatheads" in the area where the skull was found, according to federal records.
Park officials recently consulted a long list of tribes about the skull. Officials from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes confirmed that their ancestors routinely camped in the area.
That's enough evidence to suggest that the skull be turned over to them, Sucec said.
Final remains
The skull is the last set of remains at Yellowstone to be returned to tribes.
Earlier this year, Yellowstone turned over three sets of remains and several burial objects found near Yellowstone Lake in the 1940s and 1950s.
The Eastern Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation took possession of the bones and reburied them Oct. 1 in ceremonies inside Yellowstone.
Sucec said the process is an important reminder of Indians' presence in Yellowstone long before European-Americans arrived. The remains gathered at Yellowstone, typically by collectors interested in native "curios," are rightfully being returned where they belong, she said. "
Note: Some links to articles might only be valid for a short period of time depending on the publisher and others might require registration. Please let us know of any errors you find. Thanks!
Directory of cultural resource and historic preservation firms.
Gray & Pape, Inc. Archaeology**History**Historic Preservation
Serving your cultural resources needs since 1987.
Ohio -
11-03-11
New South Associates, Inc. New South Associates is a women-owned small business providing cultural resource management services, both nationally and internationally. Our specialities include archaeology, history, architectural history, preservation planning, and public interpretati
Georgia -
03-25-11
Kerns CRM Consultants Cultural and Historical Resource Management Services
Maryland -
01-10-11
Paula S. Reed and Associates, Inc. Paula S. Reed and Associates, Inc. is a small, woman-owned corporation organized in the State of Maryland, which provides cultural resource evaluation on a nation-wide basis, specializing in National Historic Landmark nominations. We meet qualifications o
Maryland -
11-23-10
SWCA Environmental Consultants Acquires Northwest Archaeological Associates SWCA Environmental Consultants has acquired Northwest Archaeological Associates, expanding SWCA's Pacific Northwest presence with a new Seattle office offering cultural and natural resource management and environmental permitting and compliance consulting.
04-04-11
ACHP Section 106 Essentials two-day course which explains the requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
02-02-11
