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By REBEKAH SCOTT
BLADE STAFF WRITER
26 July 2002
Skulls, looters, accusations, pointing fingers - local history took a dramatic
turn yesterday evening at Sanger Branch Library, where top officials from the
Ohio Historical Society and Fort Meigs State Memorial Park met with about 25
members of the Native American Alliance of Ohio.
The Indians said they want to be informed whenever state archaeologists
unearth prehistoric human remains at the Perrysburg historic site, or any
other Ohio-sponsored dig.
They're upset, they said, that recent renovations at the fort resulted in
several "desecrated" graves and disinterments of early settlers and ancient
Indians.
They want better security at Fort Meigs so that looters cannot strip the site
of pioneer and Native American artifacts.
They want Ohio Historical Society to follow clear, consistent procedures when
conducting historical digs.
They want a voice in the Historical Society's decision-making.
And most of all, they want their ancestors' bones back.
"It doesn't matter if the bones are red or white. They don't belong on a shelf
in Columbus," said Tom Netz, an Indian representative who said he's worked
with the historical society for 20 years.
"This is appalling to me, the hurry-up, haphazard job that's been done at Fort
Meigs. ... I've worked with you [Historical Society] guys for a long time;
I've stood up for you many times. But not this time."
Officials from the historical society fielded the complaints, backed by Bill
Pickard, an archaeologist who worked at the site, and Fort Meigs supervisor
Larry Nelson.
Fort Meigs is a public park, Mr. Nelson said. Site security must be balanced
against the site's use as a park, playground, and picnic area. Many bones that
appear in the soil are from deer, beavers, and other food scraps thrown down a
hillside over the centuries, Mr. Pickard said. Only a tiny percentage are
human.
Remains taken from the nearby Spafford family cemetery, unearthed by accident,
will be analyzed at Ohio State University. They were found on Perrysburg land,
so they're the town's responsibility, James Strider, spokesman, said.
As for looters, Mr. Nelson said he's never seen anyone digging at the fort or
stealing artifacts.
Mr. Nelson and Mr. Pickard rejected allegations that body removals were done
secretly, or that archaeologists told half-truths to curious passers-by.
"We are in full compliance with all federal provisions concerning Native
American remains," he said.
Mike Harsh, head of the curatorial division, read statements from a July 12
meeting that placed a moratorium on removal of any human remains at state
historic sites until an agreement could be reached with Native American
groups.
"That's a start on our part," Mr. Harsh said. "We'll work on this."
The historians labored to explain fine points of the federal Native American
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which they said applies to the Indian
remains, but not to Fort Meigs overall.
Once a body is disturbed, the law requires that area Indian tribes be
contacted; tribal representatives at the meeting said no one in their
close-knit society heard of the find until contacted by The Blade.
They suggested the society form a list of Native American contacts, and meet
periodically with tribal leaders. Still, no clear answers were provided about
where and when the bodies buried beneath Fort Meigs for seven centuries will
end their Columbus sojourn.
"Fort Meigs has a big front yard, and these people laying on your shelves in
Columbus need to be put back into the ground, need to complete their cycle,"
Mr. Netz said. "You could put up a big stone marker saying the historic
society and Native Americans did the honorable thing.
"What better public relations could you ask for?" he asked.
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