Native American skulls repatriated to California from England (LA Times) [View all]

[petronius]

Nobody thought much about the locked metal cabinet in the medical school at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. It was another forgotten fixture in the anatomy department — until a researcher last year found seven skulls with yellowing labels indicating the remains were those of Native Americans from California's Central Coast.

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The act and similar state laws do not apply to foreign institutions. Still, the University of Birmingham, among others, sees repatriation as "a moral choice," said June Jones, a bioethicist in the university's School of Medical and Dental Sciences. The school also is returning aboriginal bones to Australia and Maori bones to groups in New Zealand.

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How and when the Salinan bones got to Birmingham is unknown. The only clues came from the handwritten labels: "Dug from a grave near Avila, San Luis Obispo County, California by R.W. Summers."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-adv-skulls-20120520,0,421863.story