ABSTRACT
From 1995 to 1997 there was a dispute between the Pawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and the Smithsonian Institution (and eventually other tribes) as to the cultural affiliation and thus repatriation of Indian human remains and cultural objects from the Steed-Kisker phase (ad 1000–1250) sites in northwest Missouri. To settle the dispute, the Smithsonian Native American Repatriation Review Committee (RRC) – the committee mandated by the National Museum of the American Indian Act of 1989 to oversee repatriation at the Smithsonian – held a formal hearing to assess cultural affiliation. After examining evidence, including oral traditions, the RRC concluded that there was an affiliation with the Pawnee and possibly other tribes historically related to a wider geographical area encompassing the Steed-Kisker sites. The other groups – Iowa Tribe, Ponca Tribe, Kaw Tribe, Osage Tribe, and Otoe-Missouria Nation – arrived at a settlement through year-long negotiations whereby a joint repatriation occurred in 1997. This chapter, by the chair of the RRC during the period, examines the dispute as a case study whereby Indian tribal identity was disputed and negotiated not only with museums and institutions but with other tribes as well. Implications of the case are discussed not only for repatriation but the wider issue of American Indian territory, history and identity.
