Dickson Mounds Museum, Lewistown, IL 1992
One of the most successful legal and cultural changes to emerge from AIM activism was the increasing public outcry and eventual legal prohibition on the ownership and display of Native remains without tribal consultation and consent. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA) requires the repatriation of identifiable human remains and significant cultural artifacts and provides a process for consultation with federally recognized tribes. However, the law’s limited scope has required continued Native activism.
From 1927 to 1992, the skeletal remains of 248 Native Americans were left partially excavated and on public display at the Dickson Mounds Museum in Lewistown, IL. As opposition to museum ownership and display of human remains mounted, Dickson Mounds was singled out for especially sharp criticism. Although the unidentified remains were not covered by NAGPRA, Native American groups held frequent, visible protests following the law’s 1990 adoption. These protests and the public opposition to the display that they engendered forced the governor to order the state-run museum to close the display in 1992.
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