The San Juan National Forest is repatriating the archaeological remains of 10 individuals as well as pottery shards recovered from the eroding shorelines of McPhee Reservoir, according to a notice published in the Federal Register.
The remains were excavated from sites in a historic archaeological district linked to Indigenous tribes in Montezuma County.
In 2021, the remains of nine individuals were found at a site that consists of a large Pueblo I habitation thought to be occupied around the years 750 to 900. The remains of one person were discovered in 2022 at another archaeological site occupied sometime between the Basketmaker III and post-Puebloan periods, between the years 500 and 1840.
The notice listed 23 tribes linked to the Southwest United States that had priority for the disposition of the bodies based on the archaeological context and geographic location.
The remains could be repatriated as soon as April 16, however claims may be submitted over the following year. Details for where to send inquiries can be found in the Federal Register notice.
The San Juan National Forest declined to comment for this story.
Hundreds of bodies and thousands of associated funerary objects have been discovered and returned to tribes in the region in recent decades. The terms of how agencies handle the highly sensitive objects are dictated by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
Human bones found in an eroding hillside south of Durango in August were also determined to be Native American and are undergoing repatriation. History Colorado, the state agency responsible for the disposition of those remains, could not offer more information “due to the wishes of our Tribal Partners.”
rschafir@durangoherald.com
