Before the court ruled on the injunction, however, other tribes who also have links to the area filed repatriation requests with the Corps of Engineers. The Corps decided that it needed more time to review the case and the competing claims. Native American Arguments for Repatriation Native American groups present a variety of arguments for repatriation. Some groups argue that archaeological and biological study is unnecessary because tribal history is already well known within each tribe through myths, oral history, written documents, etc. Archaeological study of human remains is viewed as a form of grave robbing and desecration.
Repatriation is seen as the key to ensuring that ancestors are treated with respect.
Some Native Americans completely reject the contributions of scientific archaeological research and consider the theories of migration across the Bering Strait and evolution as myths of Science. To these individuals, the archaeologists' claim that study is necessary is simply another example of Euro-Americans' attempts to control native peoples by controlling their sense of history and values. Discussion Questions 5. First, they do not consider their research inherently disrespectful or equate it with grave robbing. Archaeologists feel that they have been trained in the techniques with which cultural resources can be protected for perpetuity, not harmed.