Update: Burgum ‘heartbroken’ over discovery of Native American remains at UND

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (KVRR) – North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has issued an apology following the discovery of ancestral Native American remains at the University of North Dakota.

UND President Andrew Armacost says the remains were discovered on campus in March. In a press conference, Armacost said he will not say where the remains were found or where they are now citing privacy issues. He did mention they were found in multiple places on campus and moved to a central location in August.

Armacost said the university will work closely with tribal representatives and will follow cultural protocols to ensure the remains are properly treated.

“Repatriation will take time and hard work, perhaps several years. UND will hire the appropriate cultural resource consultants to help with this process. The remaining collection at UND is significant, with dozens of ancestors and several hundred containers of objects taken from Indigenous land and communities, requiring painstaking labor for identification and placement.”

“UND will see this through to the very end,” Armacost said.

Armacost said he let tribes know what was found right away. Tribes taking part in a press conference said they were happy the public was told months afterwards so the nations could give input on what should be done and would be given time to heal.

Research is being done to figure out who the remains belong to and why they were on campus. Armacost said they may have been used as teaching aides and educators did not know they were ancestral remains.

The 2:00 PM press conference with President Armcost, UND staff, Executive Director of the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission Nathan Davis and the media was not livestreamed on the UND website or social media. It was held on Zoom and no reporters or members of the public were in the room. The university said the press conference will be put on its website.

In a written statement, Gov. Doug Burgum said “we are heartbroken by the deeply insensitive treatment of these indigenous ancestral remains and artifacts and extend our deepest apologies to the sovereign tribal nations in North Dakota and beyond.”

“This dark chapter, while extremely hurtful, also presents an opportunity to enhance our understanding and respect for indigenous cultures and to become a model for the nation by conducting this process with the utmost deference to the wishes, customs and traditions of tribal nations.”

Burgum added “We pledge to work with our tribal partners with understanding and mutual respect and assist wherever possible as UND and the North Dakota University System move toward ensured compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.”

The university has more information on the repatriation process on its website. Click here to see it.