Posted on Apr 23, 2023
Bringing ancestors home — the long process of recovering tribal remains
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Museums around the nation have held items and ancestors from Northwest Indigenous communities for decades. Some tribes navigate a long and emotional journey to bring them home.
P
eople wearing formal clothing make their way into a community center building in northwest Washington state. It's a private event. Inside, harvested old-growth logs and polished floors shine. The space is filled with bleachers and natural light.
“It’s called Wex'liem," says Lena Tso, a historic preservation officer for the Lummi Nation. "It's named after the frog village, so it’s called the frog building.”
It's good for big celebrations. “There was a really big one on Saturday," Tso said.
Today though, a funeral is underway.
"When there’s a funeral, the family will gather and have all their funeral services here at the building,” Tso says.
A few miles down the road is the Lummi Nation cemetery.
P
eople wearing formal clothing make their way into a community center building in northwest Washington state. It's a private event. Inside, harvested old-growth logs and polished floors shine. The space is filled with bleachers and natural light.
“It’s called Wex'liem," says Lena Tso, a historic preservation officer for the Lummi Nation. "It's named after the frog village, so it’s called the frog building.”
It's good for big celebrations. “There was a really big one on Saturday," Tso said.
Today though, a funeral is underway.
"When there’s a funeral, the family will gather and have all their funeral services here at the building,” Tso says.
A few miles down the road is the Lummi Nation cemetery.
Bringing ancestors home — the long process of recovering tribal remains
Posted from kuow.org
Native Americans
Heritage
Museums
State of Washington
Posted 1 y ago
Responses: 2
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."There’s a cemetery a short drive from Moses’ office. Elders are buried here. It’s also the resting place of people they get back from museums and collections.
“We've been bearing ancestors in [here] for thousands of years,” he says. “Most of it was taken over by the settlers and they came over, so there's a lot of that, the big names of Snoqualmie Valley history that are buried there too, but we have that small corner.”
In this cemetery, Moses and his staff at the preservation office dig parts of these graves by hand.
That’s partly because of tradition. But it’s also a way to protect the graves of the people they’ve buried here previously and to avoid disrupting that space.
New NAGPRA updates are expected to come before the end of this year."
..."There’s a cemetery a short drive from Moses’ office. Elders are buried here. It’s also the resting place of people they get back from museums and collections.
“We've been bearing ancestors in [here] for thousands of years,” he says. “Most of it was taken over by the settlers and they came over, so there's a lot of that, the big names of Snoqualmie Valley history that are buried there too, but we have that small corner.”
In this cemetery, Moses and his staff at the preservation office dig parts of these graves by hand.
That’s partly because of tradition. But it’s also a way to protect the graves of the people they’ve buried here previously and to avoid disrupting that space.
New NAGPRA updates are expected to come before the end of this year."
(1)
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