136th Year... and still on the job!	Wednesday December 22, 2004

Chemical Depot signs pact to repatriate Indian remains

By JEFF TUCKER
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

The U.S. Army has received half of the signatures it is seeking for an agreement to repatriate any Native American remains found during the construction and clean-up at the Pueblo Chemical Depot.

It's a complicated procedure because so many different tribes spent time in the Pueblo area.

Representatives from the Kiowa and Northern Arapaho tribes signed the agreement last month and during the signing ceremony gave a blessing on the depot site and the work that will take place there.

George Daingkau of the Kiowa Tribe and Robert Goggles of the Northern Arapaho both signed the agreement in November. They join Joe Big Medicine of the Southern Cheyenne and Joe Pedro of the Southern Arapaho tribes in signing the agreement.

Pedro and Big Medicine signed the agreement in September and also blessed the site.

The agreement will allow for the return of any remains and artifacts uncovered during the construction of the chemical demilitarization plant or the environmental clean-up of the site.

The agreement has been a goal of the Army for the past two years.

The depot is working with eight tribes who claim cultural affiliation with the general area.

“This is an important event for the depot, and I am honored to be in command to sign them along with the representatives of these great tribes," said Lt. Col. John A. Becker during the signing ceremony.

If the depot uncovers any remains or artifacts, the tribes will decide among themselves which tribe will take the lead to conduct a reburial ceremony.

“Previous artifacts found on depot property have not been traced to a specific tribe,” said Kathryn Cain, the Depot’s environmental management officer, in an official statement. “Tribes have oral histories about using the depot area for hunting and camping along the waterways. There are about 75 identified archaeological sites on the depot with 24 of those sites currently considered eligible for the National Register of Historic Places."

The four remaining tribes who will sign the agreement at the Comanche, Southern Ute, Apache Tribe of Oklahoma and Jicarilla Apache.