Indian remains that were once part of the Laconia (N.H.) Public Library’s museum collection were returned to the ground after a traditional burial ceremony in late July. Part of the ceremony was performed in the park behind the library, although the actual remains—a skull and several bone fragments that had been donated about 75 years ago—were buried in an undisclosed, sacred location.
Library Director Carol Sykes said former state archaeologist Gary Hume had recommended in 1993 that the remains be returned to the nearest tribe. But no one took action until Peter Newell, head of the New Hampshire Intertribal Native American Council, recently approached library trustees about them, the Laconia Citizen reported August 18.
Library officials reacted quickly and cooperatively to his request, said Newell, who performed the ceremony with his mother and father and two representatives from the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Association.
“We feel these people deserve a little more respect, a little more reverence, than to be yanked out of the ground and put on display,” Newell said.
Posted August 28, 2000.