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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Tribe Returns Remains Of Elders To Ground

From Staff And Wire Reports

In a song-filled ceremony that opened with the chime of a bell, Nez Perce tribal members have returned the remains of their elders to the earth.

The Thursday ceremony honored ancestors who lived hundreds of years ago. The remains of one were discovered recently by children playing on a hill along State Route 129 in Asotin, Wash. A skull and shoulder were exposed, likely by erosion, said Allen Slickpoo, ethnographer for the tribe’s cultural resource program.

Tribal archaeologist Jason Lyon confirmed the body was that of a Nez Perce, Slickpoo said.

The origin of the other remains is unknown. The Nez Perce National Historical Park had them for an unknown length of time.