For Cloudy, and any others interested.

[SeaCat]

I just came across this story in the Cape Cod Times, Cape Cod Massachussetts.

Cat



August 31, 2006

Indian bones dug up at house
By ROBIN LORD
STAFF WRITER
ORLEANS - The discovery of American Indian skull fragments at a construction site last week has put the expansion plans of an East Orleans family on hold while state archaeologists and Commission on Indian Affairs officials decide how best to honor the remains.





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The Nauset

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These American Indians inhabited the land in and around Orleans. A map drawn by French explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1605 shows some of the 20 to 30 Nauset families in a summer camp around what is now Nauset Harbor.

During King Philip's War (1675-76), the Nauset remained loyal to the English during the uprising.

Fish was an integral part of the Nauset diet, and many "shell mounds" have been found in coastal sites in East Orleans.

The last known Nausets to have lived in Orleans died in the 1800s.

Source: "Orleans" by Daniel Lombardo and www.accessgenealogy.com.


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Workers from an unidentified construction company stopped digging immediately when they discovered the bone fragments, said Leonard Loparto, archaeologist and preservation planner with the state Historical Commission.

Orleans and state police, and a representative of the state medical examiner's office were called to the undisclosed property immediately to determine whether it was a crime scene, Loparto said.

That was quickly ruled out and Loparto was called in to examine the bones. He determined they were American Indian remains due to the coloration and the teeth, he said. The exact age of the bone fragments has not been determined, but native peoples have inhabited Cape Cod for more than 10,000 years, he said.

The remains are probably that of a Nauset Indian, Loparto said. The Nauset were related to the Wampanoag, and were the native peoples who greeted French explorer Samuel de Champlain when he and his party docked in Nauset Harbor in 1605.

''Everything is pretty preliminary,'' Loparto said yesterday, as he walked around the East Orleans neighborhood so he could make a sketch map.

Archaeologists are reluctant to give specific locations when ancient remains are found, Loparto said, because they attract what he called ''pot hunters,'' who look for artifacts. For the same reason, he declined to name the property owners.

Loparto said he will have a report for the historical commission in the next few days.

Under the state's Unmarked Burial Law, if human skeletal remains are accidentally uncovered, all activity must stop and a site evaluation must be made to determine if they are American Indian, said John Peters, executive director of the state Commission on Indian Affairs.

If the remains are American Indian, the state archaeologist, a representative of the commission and the landowner decide together how to re-bury them and keep them from being disturbed again, he said. If, for some reason, the remains cannot be buried in the same spot, the commission has burial sites across Cape Cod for re-internment, Peters said.




Officials and the homeowner also make a joint decision about the property owner's construction plans. Sometimes owners are asked to relocate or re-design their project, he said.

Peters plans to visit the site today or tomorrow, and will be part of the decision as to where the skull will be re-buried.

In most cases, remains can be placed at or close to the spot where they were accidentally disturbed, he said.

Robin Lord can be reached at rlord@capecodonline.com.

(Published: August 31, 2006)

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[cloudy]

It's a bittersweet story, Cat.

It's good that they try to rebury the remains at or close to where they were found, but so sad that it sort of highlights, to me, that so many tribes have disappeared completely. The Wampanoag are close to gone, as well.

 

[SeaCat]

It's a bittersweet story, Cat.

It's good that they try to rebury the remains at or close to where they were found, but so sad that it sort of highlights, to me, that so many tribes have disappeared completely. The Wampanoag are close to gone, as well.

Cloudy I agree with you, it is so sad that it highlights this. Unfortunately, in my mind at least, there are some who like to use this plight for their own political and monetary gain. The Wampanoag as you said are vanishing. There is an effort to stop this by a branch of the tribe but it is having difficulties mainly because of interbreeding. (The Mashpee Wampanoag.)

The Mashpee Wampanoag are having difficulties because they of the interbreeding and their splitting from and not being recognised by the main group of Wampanoag. (Much of this is due to the political and financial questions being played by the Tribes Leaders. Mainly the Peters Clan.)

I have been following this for years and am constantly amazed at the politics being played out. It saddens me.

Cat