BY RACHEL MELCER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CROSBY TOWNSHIP -- An alliance of Indian tribes wants Fernald to become more than a cleaned-up relic of the Cold War.
They say that for thousands of their ancestors, the former uranium processing plant could be a gateway to heaven.
Under their plan for the former uranium processing facility, nearly 4,000 sets of Indian remains boxed in Ohio museums and government warehouses would be interred on the site.
In addition to any federal protections, a new state law would make it a crime to disturb reburied bones. The Ohio General Assembly included them in the definition of a protected cemetery. The law went into effect Oct. 1.
Meanwhile, more remains are being discovered on the 1,050 fenced acres in northwest Hamilton County.
"We think that Fernald is the answer to all the federal and state problems" with Indian remains, said Oliver Collins, co-chair of the Native American Alliance and principal chief of the Taligee Cherokee Nation in Scioto County.
"And not just Fernald, but federally owned places like this in every state in the country . . . In our culture . . . if any part of the body, even the skeletal remains, is not returned to Mother Earth, then our soul is not at rest. We are interrupted in our journey to heaven. That is a universal belief in the Indian world."
That belief has not been supported by federal and state laws. It is at odds with scientists who say prehistoric remains should be put under the microscope for archaeological and anthropological research.
"I understand both sides of the argument," said archaeologist Kevin Pape of Gray & Pape, a consulting firm working at Fernald. "I think that there is a need to understand our collective heritage (through science) . . . But scientific study needs to be done with a care and sensitivity for the people whose remains we are studying, and for the current-day Native Americans."
The National Prehistoric Preservation Act requires a physical survey of any area where federal dollars are being spent.
At Fernald, workers turn over a 2-foot section of earth every 50 feet in all areas that are going to be excavated or disturbed during the cleanup.
A larger, more detailed study is conducted anywhere bits of pottery, tools or other remnants are found.
Joe Schomaker, Fluor Daniel Fernald's cultural resources manager, is in charge of the project. He also acts a liaison between the Department of Energy and scientists and Indian groups and leads programs at local schools.
So far, Fernald crews have found 117 significant sites. All but two are considered "prehistoric" -- they date back to before 1660, when people of European descent arrived in the area and began keeping a recorded history.
Discoveries include five bodies of people who lived in the Fort Ancient period, from 1000 to 1660. Nearly 20 other partial burial sites were unearthed. Archaeologists also found bones of a longhorn buffalo that has been extinct since 8000 B.C.
Such discoveries excite scientists and pose a cultural and governmental problem.
Federal law protects remains that can be culturally identified and returned to a modern tribe for burial. The vast majority are unidentifiable -- so they are turned over to a museum or government agency for study.
"We think it's a sacrilege," Mr. Collins said. "They want to collect them and study them so they can write self-serving books about our ancestors. I haven't ever seen a book that they've written that's going to help me."
Even if tribes were given control of unidentified remains, most cannot afford to ship them to reservations across the country or buy land on which to bury them.
"Our people are on shelves. Christian people are in the ground," said Barbara Clandell, a Cherokee descendant from Thornville. "We want them buried simply, with dignity and respect -- as if you were burying your own grandparents."
Tribal representatives say Fernald could provide a permanent solution and a model for other federal land for more than 100,000 unidentified Indian remains stored nationwide.
"I want everybody in the country to come (to Fernald) someday and say, "Look what happened here. This is a beautiful place. It's being used as a Native American cemetery.' It can be used to educate people," Mr. Collins said.
"Speaking as an Indian, we wouldn't go down to other people's cemeteries and dig them up and put them in boxes. And now they're starting to understand that they shouldn't do that to us, either. That's the way it should be."
