Testimony was presented by professional scientific and museum associations, archaeologists, representatives of individual museums, Indian organizations, Tribal religious leaders, Native Hawaiian representatives, and private art dealers.
Much of the Indian testimony revolved around their rights to the remains and objects held by the museums and the information surrounding the acquisition of such items. Some Indian representatives testified that the spirits of their ancestors would not rest until they are returned to their homeland and that these beliefs have been generally ignored by the museums which house the remains and objects. There was testimony that non-Indian remains which are unearthed are treated much different than those of Indians. The non-Indian remains tend to be quickly studied and then reburied while so many Indian remains are sent to museums and curated.
Testimony received from the scientific community stressed the importance of human remains to scientific study and the need to learn for the future from the past. They expressed concern that if remains are reburied now they will be lost to science forever and not reachable when future study techniques are developed. Most testimony indicated the need for strong legislation to protect burial sites from being looted or desecrated in the future.
Testimony from the museum community stressed the responsibilities which museums have to maintain their collections and concern for liability surrounding repatriation. One witness described a situation where a museum returned Wampum Belts to a tribe. After long negotiations, a mutually agreed upon compromise was implemented whereby the tribe received the belts back to continue their ceremonies and the museum maintained access to the belts for legitimate study and educational purposes. Most agreed that museums needed to become more sensitive to the needs and desires of Native Americans whose remains and objects they house.
Witnesses representing private art dealers testified that Native Americans should not be the sole conservators of their cultural items because all Americans have a right to their history. The Art dealers present denied dealing in human remains per se but did admit that a war shirt in very good condition containing scalp locks could be sold for $200,000 on the open market.
Discussion and testimony received by the Committee indicated that a process was needed by which Native Americans could gain access to collections housed in museums and Federal agencies.