Certain archaeologists think that all collections should be preserved and all decisions made by archaeologists, while others believe that excavation should be avoided whenever possible. The reburial debate has become heated and emotional. In many ways we can look at it as a representation of the age-worn conflict between religion and science. The scientific value is clear. Yet, equally valid is the claim of Native Americans that their religion is violated by excavating burial remains.
Some tribes now consider all human remains to be sacred.
Although scientists are not talking about displaying the skeletons without tribal permission, they are violating the religious traditions by excavating burial remains. Native Americans have a strong and moving case for reburial. The image of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dismembered skeletons lying in museum vaults is certainly distressing, and many states have accordingly passed bills curtailing the excavation of burial sites or demanding the return of skeletal remains to Native American tribes. The Walpi project involved the restoration of the ceremonial center for the first Mesa Hopi. Early in the planning process it was decided that an historic architect and an archaeologist must be readily available to record the village architecture before it was transformed and to recover any artifacts the villagers declared removable.