Indian Remains Reburied In Ohio

In what was thought to be the first ceremony of its kind, tribal representatives and federal officials Sunday reburied the remains of as many as 25 Indians unearthed during a construction project.

About 100 people took part in the ceremony at the former Fernald uranium processing site, including tribal leaders who welcomed the drenching rain as “tears of their ancestors.”

The ceremony was the first time Indian remains found on private land have been reburied on federal soil for protection purposes, said Tricia Thompson, spokeswoman for Fluor Daniel Fernald, the government contractor hired to clean up the site.

The remains were unearthed in 1994 and 1995 during a federal construction project in Crosby Township.

They date to the 11th century, but experts are not sure to which tribe they belong. Members of the Shawnee, Miami, Seneca, Delaware and Wyandot tribes and the Native American Alliance of Ohio attended the ceremony.

The remains include those of a 30-year-old woman; two girls aged 2 and 13; and a 16-year-old boy, who was buried with a dog. There are partial remains of another 16 to 20 people.