Remains Of Woman, Infants Put To Rest

The remains of a woman and two infants were laid to rest alongside other repatriated ancestors at the new tribal cemetery north of Poplar on Friday, Sept. 18.

The burial ceremonies took place after the Fort Peck Tribes Cultural Preservation Department repatriated ancestral human remains of the remains from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The remains included a woman found with associated tribal beads, bracelets, coverings, dentalium along with two infants.

On May 7, 1980, the Valley County Sheriff’s Office received initial reports of human remains found in a coulee on the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. A couple of months later, the remains and funerary items were submitted to the FBI Laboratory in Glasgow for analysis. On Aug. 29, 1980, local law enforcement recommends transferring permanent custody of the remains and objects to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History.

Cultural preservation director Dyan Youpee and representatives were visiting the National Museum of Natural History facility on Aug. 19, 2025. Youpee advocated that the remains should be returned to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the NAGPRA process and not consulted under Smithsonian’s repatriation policy. Youpee packed the ancestral remains on Aug. 22, 2025, for travel. The ancestors and items were hand-carried back to Montana on Aug. 28, 2025, into secure storage at the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge.

On Dec. 23, 2025, the Fort Peck Tribes submitted a formal repatriation claim requesting an expedited timeframe.

During April of 2026, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued the formal Repatriation Statement to relinquish possession and legal control to the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes.

The official physical transfer of control and ownership took place on Sept. 15.