NB: The following excerpts are presented on the web site in lieu of an abstract.
This report appeared in the Society for American Archaeology Bulletin of November, 1985, and is reprinted in the JFA with the permission of the author and the SAA.
The conference on reburial issues sponsored jointly by SOPA and SAA was held on June 14 and 15, 1985, at the Newbury Library's Darcy McNickle Center for the History of the American Indian, in Chicago. Twenty-three invited participants represented a range of groups whose interests converge around issues relating to disinterment, analysis, curation, and reinterment of human remains. The conference was planned to bring together advocates of many different positions to present and discuss their several points of view in a non-confrontational manner.
Discussions developed around an agenda with five major topics: (1) reasons for insisting upon reburial, (2) reasons for objecting to reburial, (3) reasons for scientific study of human skeletal populations, (4) exploration of possible resolutions, and (5) the next step.
The conferees concluded Saturday's meeting by discussing what should be done to capitalize on the spirit of cooperation engendered in Chicago. A set of eight consensus statements was prepared. The SAA continues to seek insight and advice in the search for mutually acceptable solutions.