Responding to the Discovery of Native American Ancestral Remains in Dartmouth Collections

Dear colleagues, 

As you may have seen in VOX, on our social media channels, and in local media coverage, Dartmouth announced yesterday that an internal review of our osteology collections led to the discovery of previously unreported Native American skeletal remains.
 
This is an extremely painful discovery, especially for Native American and Indigenous students and alumni, and for the faculty and staff who believed in good faith that they were not teaching with ancestral remains in their classrooms and labs. I encourage you to read the announcement to gain an understanding of how this happened, and the actions Dartmouth is taking to follow the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, a federal law that mandates the return of sacred objects, human remains, and other objects of cultural patrimony to federally-recognized tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations.  
 
It is likely that there will be students in your classes and labs who will be distressed by this news. Please be understanding of students who may need to be absent in the coming days. I encourage you to welcome discussion of the announcement with students who may want to talk about it. On Tuesday, this announcement was shared directly with Native and Indigenous students, among other Native community members. As you would expect, it was devastating for them to hear.
 
As we process this distressing news, let's lean on one another, and if needed, seek support from our Faculty/Employee Assistance Program. Together, let's reaffirm our commitment to supporting and honoring the many Indigenous members of our community. 
 
Sincerely,
Elizabeth 

Elizabeth F. Smith