Resolution
Adopted by the CCAR
Protection of Native American Remains
Adopted by the 101st Annual Convention of Central Conference of American Rabbis
Seattle, Washington, June, 1990
Background
As the Central Conference of American Rabbis has noted in past resolutions concerning the rights of native Americans(1973, 1979, 1982), the history of our nation’s relationship with Native Americans has been a troubled one.
A somewhat recent development, although one that is rooted in actions sanctioned by our government dating back to the 19th century, concerns the disturbance of unmarked Indian burial sites, the taking of human remains and/or burial goods from those graves for scientific inquiry or commercial exploitation, and the amassing of collections of Indian human remains in public and private institutions. These actions have occurred through the years largely due to a lack of protective legislation on either the state or federal level.
Moreover, persistent prejudice directed against Native Americans has created an atmosphere in which the remains of their dead are treated in ways that the majority of Americans would find extremely offensive were the remains of their ancestors so handled. It is a basic tenet of Native American religion that the spirits of the dead cannot be at rest if their human remains remain unburied or are disinterred. Thus, the issue takes on even greater significance, from a Church/State perspective, when we learn that the federal government defines as federal property, any human remains over 100 years old found on federal property…including Indian reservations. A sad legacy of U.S. government policy of the late 19th century is the collection of Indian remains held in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution, the vast majority of which are bones stacked in a storage room for decades. Attempts by some Native American tribes to reclaim the remains of their ancestors for reburial have met with very limited success. The scientific and archaeological communities stand in strong opposition to the idea of returning these remains to the tribes who claim them. State laws vary widely with respect to the protection afforded unmarked Indian burial sites and the trafficking in human remains that is often a consequence of grave-robbing.
To date, 19 states have passed legislation that affords varying degrees of protection to unmarked burial sites but few of these states have dealt with the difficult issue of Indian remains already held by museums and other institutions.
On the federal level, a number of pieces of legislation have been introduced in the past two years that address various parts of this problem. However, a comprehensive federal policy that addresses the protection of Indian burial sites and the return for proper burial of Indian remains held by institutions is yet to be enacted.
Jewish law and tradition are forthright in maintaining the importance of affording a proper burial for the dead and of guarding the integrity of that final resting place. Only in the rarest of circumstances is disinterment permitted and then only to facilitate reinterment in a safer location. The examples of our patriarchs and matriarchs serve as models in teaching us how to lovingly lay our dead to rest. Cognizant of the brutal manner in which millions of our people came to rest in unmarked graves and how many of their mortal remains were utilized for ghastly purposes by their Nazi murderers, Jews should be especially sensitive to the concerns of Native Americans about the reverence due the burial sites of their ancestral dead and the human remains that have been unearthed, collected, sold, and displayed for purposes of scientific inquiry and/or profit.
One Native American activist has raised the unsettling question of how we Jews would react were the German government to display, or withhold from burial, the remains of Holocaust victims because of their “scientific and historical” value. We would be justifiably outraged and so should we be over the same treatment dealt to Native Americans.
WHEREAS the dignity of all people is reflected in the manner in which they respect the living and the dead, and
WHEREAS Native American people maintain a traditional reverence for the proper interment of their dead, and
WHEREAS the remains of American Indians and associated artifacts are frequently located outside of recognized cemeteries and outside the boundaries of reservations and other Indian lands, and
WHEREAS such remains and artifacts are frequently disturbed or removed, either in the course of construction or excavation activity, as part of archaeological research, or for profit, and
WHEREAS it is an accepted tradition of respect that known graves and grave sites are to be left undisturbed, and criminal sanctions are normally imposed against those who disturb graves and grave sites, and
WHEREAS the same respect must also apply to the remains and burial sites of American Indians, even though they may be located outside of recognized cemeteries and outside the boundaries of reservations and other Indian lands, and
WHEREAS Jewish tradition affirms the importance of treating the dead with reverence and the need to preserve burial sites from harm or exploitation, and
WHEREAS the Central Conference of American Rabbis supports the rights of Native American peoples to achieve justice with respect to their religious, cultural, and treaty rights, and
WHEREAS the right of every people to follow its religious dictates in peace and security, free of government interference, is a principle enshrined in the Constitution of the United States,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the CCAR at its annual Convention in Seattle, Washington, June 1990, that:
1. We support the efforts of Native American peoples to achieve legislative protection for Indian burial sites and Indian remains.
2. We call upon members of the CCAR to work on both the state and federal levels to help secure legislation that will protect unmarked Indian burial sites and criminalize the traffic in human remains and burial goods illegally obtained.
3. We support legislative efforts to return to Native Americans for reburial Indian remains currently held in private and public institutions.
4. We affirm the importance of respecting the religious tenets and sensibilities of all peoples and call upon the federal government to respect at all times the principle of Church/State separation enshrined in the Constitution.