Repatriating Native American Artifacts

AURORA, Ill. October 2, 2006 - Repatriating Native American human remains and artifacts will be the topic of a discussion by an Ojibwa tribe member at Aurora University Tuesday (Oct. 3).

Joseph Standing Bear of Westchester will discuss “Preserving Tradition in a Modern World: Contemporary Native American Issues” at 6:30 p.m. at the Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures at Dunham Hall, 1400 Marseillaise Place in Aurora.

He is founder and president of Midwest Save Our Ancestor’s Remains & Resources Indigenous Network Group (SOARRING) Foundation.

Standing Bear replaces Elder Florence Thomas of the Vuntut Gwitch'in tribe of Canada’s Yukon Territory. Scheduled to speak on oil drilling in the Alaska Wildlife Refuge, she canceled her appearance due to a family emergency.

SOARRING is a not-for-profit organization formed in 1996 to facilitate the repatriation of Native American ancestral remains and burial goods, to work for the preservation of burial and sacred sites in Illinois and the Midwestern states, to protect and conserve the natural environment, and promote learning experiences of Indigenous cultures through education and networking.

Standing Bear will address current issues involving the repatriation of objects and human remains from museums to domestic tribes mandated by the 1990 federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).

He will also outline the continued struggle for preservation of tribal land and decent housing for his people. Standing Bear was appointed by Governor Rod Blagojevich as the first Native American representative in Illinois to the Interstate Governor’s conference in 2006.

Call (630) 844-5402 for information.

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