Artifacts Repatriated to Hopi Tribe

PHOENIX, ARIZONA—This year, the Museum of Northern Arizona repatriated human bones and artifacts from its Sinagua collection to the Hopi Tribe under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The remains and artifacts had been excavated from the Coconino National Forest, and were the property of the federal government. Records indicate that an 800-year-old skeleton known as the Magician may also have been repatriated, along with the jewelry, baskets, cutting blades, mountain lion teeth, shells, a beaded cap, and arrows that had been buried with him. The burial was noted for a basket decorated with more than 1,000 pieces of turquoise, the remains of an imported macaw, and 13 wooden pointers that may have been used in a “sword-swallowing feat of magic.”