People of the Mist Read Free

to Algonquins.”
                 “Then
you completely oppose NAGPRA?”
                 “No,
not at all. If we have human burials in our collections that can be documented
as belonging to an ethnic affiliation, a member of the tribe, then they should
be returned to their proper descendants. That is moral and just, and
archaeology can be part of the solution, but without that proven affiliation,
I’d say it is more unjust to hand over Native American skeletal material to be
reburied by the descendants of that person’s hated enemies than it is to leave
it on a museum shelf.”
                 “Perhaps.”
McCoy leaned back and sighed. “I didn’t realize it was such a mess.”
                 “There’s
more.” Adam tossed off the last of his coffee. “As an archaeologist, according
to the law, I have to contact the nearest Native American group prior to
excavating a burial from an archaeological site. But, if I’m working at a
historic plantation, excavating slave quarters, I don’t need to contact any
AfricanAmericans. If I’m working at a military post in the West, I don’t have
to get approval from the nearest small town.”
                 “In
other words, you’re saying the law is racist.”
                 “Isn’t
it? NAGPRA gives Native Americans legal precedence over other racial types. Any
Native American group can claim artifacts from a museum, but the State of Virginia , or Maryland —recognized by the American government as
political entities—can’t lay claim to collections in the American Museum of Natural History. What would happen if
the State of Ohio asked to have Ulysses S. Grant’s bones returned to Ohio ?”
                 “They’d
be whistling in the wind.” McCoy tapped his pen on the tabletop. He seemed to
be staring at nothing, expression blank.
                 “Further,
this law violates the separation of church and state. It gives precedence and
legal recognition to a Native religion. A Catholic can’t reclaim a burial from
a museum on religious grounds. Can a Jew?”
                 “No.”
McCoy studied his notes pensively. “Let’s get back to your specific problem.
Did your museum hold legal title to these artifacts? I mean, did you own them?”
                 “Most
of the artifacts were the property of the museum. Yes, we legally owned them,
mostly through donations over the years. We also cura ted archaeological
collections excavated by contract archaeologists working in the region. Many of
the artifacts taken by the Pian katank were the property of the landowners from
whose land they had been excavated. They allowed us to care for them with the
provision that they be displayed to the public. So, in that sense, it’s theft.”
                 “And
who actually owns your museum? You?”
                 “No,
it’s owned by the city of Potomac Cove . We have a board of trustees that works with the city council.”
                 “Do
they wish to file suit?”
                 Adam
winced. “I get the distinct impression that they’d rather just let it go.”
                 “Then
you’re thinking about a class-action suit?”
                 “I
suppose.”
                 McCoy
nodded as if fitting pieces together in his head. “Right offhand, I’d say that
litigating this would be like opening a can of worms. What’s at question is, at
its roots, a constitutional issue. A whole list of them.”
                 “Then,
I could win?”
                 McCoy
shrugged. “We’re talking about the law here. Mr. Jones, winning cases depends
on the legal tactics used, the presentation of the facts, argumentation by the
attorneys, and the persuasion of the judge. You know, don’t you, that your
opposition will be the entire Department of Justice? They keep their big