Repatriation Work Ongoing

A small group including Hilary Gourneau (left), Dylan Youpee (second from right) and Fort Peck Tribes Cultural Preservation Office director Dyan Youpee (right) participated in the interment of a mother and her two infants Sept. 18 at a special cemetery plot in Poplar. The three individuals were repatriated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from a site near the Town of Fort Peck. According to THPO staff, the mother and infants died sometime in the 1800’s. Cultural Preservation Office efforts are ongoing in the area. “Our office repatriates three to five ancestors a year, many without names, only geographical affi liation/association, but each are given respected reburial ceremonies,” Youpee said. (Photo by James Walling)