During the past decade there has been growing recognition of the desire of some Native Americans and other ethnic groups that the remains of their ancestors should not be housed in museums. They believe that these remains should be returned for reburial or reconsecration according to their traditional practices. As a result it is clear that significant portions of the nation's collections of human skeletal remains may have to be returned within the forthcoming few years. Although there is disagreement among anthropologists as to whether or to remains should be repatriated upon request, there is agreement that if repatriated, all remains should be fully documented and recorded first. The question is, what should be recorded? This is to provide funds for a conference of experts to established a set of universal guidelines for recording information about skeletal remains scheduled for repatriation. Without such recordation the information that may be gained by studying the remains would be lost forever. The conference will be hosted by the Field Museum of Natural HIstory which will organize the conference, provide the meeting space, and oversee the results.
