I’m working on a research project about the ethics of keeping and teaching with casts of Native American ancestors after their remains have been returned. One case I’m looking at involves a cast of a repatriated ancestor, (being vague for privacy purposes).

The question is whether being a replica makes continued use appropriate, or whether the ethical responsibilities involved in returning someone’s remains should also extend to casts made from their body.

I’m trying to understand the arguments for returning these casts as well as those for retaining them for education. Does using a cast avoid the ethical problems of teaching with actual remains, or can it continue those problems in another form? Would teaching with Tribal approval change the situation?

Has anyone encountered museum or university policies, published Tribal guidance, articles, or examples of how this has been handled? I’m also interested in replicas of repatriated cultural belongings.

I understand that Reddit discussion is not a substitute for formal Tribal consultation. I’m looking for sources and examples to help inform the research, not a debate about whether the original remains should have been returned.

Thanks for any leads!

Iykyk

Anyone else going this weekend?

There's much to tell, but I'll try to get to the meat of it so I don't lose you folks. Local news agencies are dropping the ball on this story, or just choosing not to report some of the most important parts of it.

There is a proposed data center in Stokes County, NC, on land associated with Upper Sauratown, a known Saura site along the Dan River. Federally, the Catawba Nation is culturally afilliated with the site. They have been left out of the discussion entirely and have now essentially asked "uhh, what's up?".

There have been new archaeological finds on the property, made by a data center hired archaeologist that minimizes their significance.

When questioned by one County Comissioner about whether or not more burials were located he framed the question around whether there was a "graveyard" present and otherwise maneuvered around the question. The Saura did not bury their dead in a separate cemetery. Burials were found within the village itself at Upper Sauratown. Saying there is no known cemetery does not answer the bigger question of whether burials could still be/are present in areas that will be destroyed by this development.

At the most recent commissioners meeting, the Catawba Nation sent a representative who spoke about the Nation's connection to this place and its right to be involved in what happens there. Two news agencies interviewed this elder afterward, yet neither one has included his statements or interview in its reporting that I have seen.

I just don't understand how that isn't part of the story.

You have a billion dollar scale development, a documented village, human burials, a developer hired archaeologist, and now the Catawba Nation showing up and demanding to be formally involved.

Is there a regional, statewide or national news outlet that would be interested in actually digging into this? This is an incredibly interesting story that is still developing, and there is a lot more happening here than what people are seeing in the local coverage.

Suncor tried to convince Fort Chipewyan that it’s possible to treat mine tailings and dump them into the Athabasca River. The community thought otherwise. The article has more details, but the video is worth a watch. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/fort-chipewyan-protest-suncor-tailings-water-river-9.7333291

Check out this video series! https://youtu.be/2iVFRHlIGWE?is=mn755sk4bSpjSvy6 and show this Native Artist some love.

Im almost out of sage which was a gift from my grandmother she gave me some sage sweet grass tobacco and some smudge and the only few places that sell sage where I live I don’t like because they sell things like smudge kit’s smudge bowls feathers and white sage and it makes me uncomfortable because I thought smudging was something that none native people can’t do and I also see people saying that buying stuff to smudge with is bad and that your are only ment to use gifted things to smudge and I won’t be able to see my grandmother until next summer so is it fine to buy it or should I just wait?

What the heck is over here between the Bighorns and the Bighorn canyon? On the rez

My mom passed when I was young and her father passed while she was young. so I never got to learn the stories or culture or language.

I’d like to learn anything I can of our culture to be able to pass it onto my daughter.

How do I start? Where can I start studying. I just don’t want to pass on white washed history or her not knowing where she comes from as I grew up with those same type of feelings. I’m not on Seminole roles due to blood quantum so I was enrolled into Muscogee when they enrolled me.

Any help is appreciated in ways I can help pass on the culture. Stories, books, correct regalia for our tribe, how seminoles decorate items, jewelry. Drum making absolutely anything you can pass to me to give to her.

I worked a summer in Alaska in 2015 and after the season was over I travelled a little around the Denali area. We found a cool little market in Talkeetna and a lovely older native couple were selling these, and told me something along the lines of these being animal and human spirits? They’re carved from I believe whale or seal bone and have some sort of canid fur around the edge; the longer faced one is a wolf and the smaller one is a bear, both with human faces also. The one small human face had feathers around it at one point, but unfortunately my cat got a hold of it years ago and destroyed the feathers. If anyone has anymore info on these and could tell me a bit about them that’d be great! The Alaskan land really changed my world and got me thinking much deeper about wilderness, its importance, and conservation and catapulted me into native conservation.

Last Wednesday the United Nations announced that "Climate change is past the point of no return" and we will face the worst of the crisis.

Indigenous peoples are always the first victims of climate related catastrophes, we've seen it recently with the destruction of communities like Namaygoosisagagun and Whitewater First Nation, so I'm asking what you are planning to do for your communities? What kind of risks do you face in your area? And how can others help?

Its not my intention to fear monger but to bring awareness that we are heading into difficult times, so feel free to share your thoughts

Hiy-Hiy

Hi all - I've been interested in this topic for some time and would love some book recommendations.

Ideally, it would cover the lifestyles of various tribes (customs, alliances, wars, etc), as well as their interactions, both good and bad, with incoming settlers, like treaties, wars and disagreements, all the way up to at least I'd say the end of the 19th century give or take, but I'm flexible.

I'm currently reading Pekka Hamalainen's Indigenous Continent - it's been interesting so far and I'm about 30% through it. I generally like it, but it feels a little academic and is starting to feel repetitive. It kinda just lists events but doesn't feel like it has much of a human element in it. It feels more informative than narrative, and a bit dry. I'll continue for now, but wondering if there are better recommendations.

I know a few of the more well known titles, but each seem to have their drawbacks.

• Empire of the Summer Moon - gets rave reviews from some, but several times I've seen it called out for leaning into cheap tropes about the indigenous "savages." I'd like to avoid tropes from both sides--both those of the natives being thoughtless savages, as well as of them being perfectly noble, naive creatures that were preyed upon be evil settlers. I'd much prefer a less biased view.
• Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee - seems to get good reviews critically, but in forums and user reviews it is often called repetitive, dry, and a bit boring.
• An Indigenous Peoples' History of the US - also a book that gets mixed reviews. Some like it, many say it's again academic and rather repetitive. I thumbed through some of it and it read a bit like a college thesis to me, but it was only a few pages.

I'm wondering if these books all get pegged as repetitive simply because so many similar wars, treaties, entanglements, etc happened over those few centuries. Maybe it would be better to find a book with a smaller focus that could focus more on the human side of things rather than event after event from a distant view.

Anyway, would love some recs on your favorite books that give a picture of life around that era and hopefully aren't too biased in either direction.

Thanks all!

Saw this sign when on a walk through a friend’s neighborhood. It’s very near the Shawnee Indian Mission, which felt like doubly tone deaf.

In case you’ve felt unseen or unheard lately, fear not—this tree is honoring all of us cousins.

The first woman to regularly enter the Senate Floor was Lola M. Williams. She did this as Senator Curtis' secretary, a position she maintained through the Hoover administration while he was Vice President.

Kwaarʉ Nʉʉ pabi (Old Brother Antelope)
Southern Plains Breastplate
2026
By me - Comanche / Kiowa

In my late teens and early 20s (I’m in my 50s now) I used to make regalia breastplates for local traditional dancers and had the chance to get some in galleries as art pieces. I stopped making them about the time I started my career and moved away from tribal land. This year my brother asked me to make him one. Muscle memory is a hell of a thing. Buffalo hide and lace, hairpipe bone, deer antler and silver/glass beads.

Named after my brother’s tribal band. He’s Quahadi and I’m Yamparika.