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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2001

A California man who has been working to locate human bones incinerated and discarded by the University of Nebraska was nearly escorted out of a ceremony on Tuesday when he spat on a memorial dedicated to Native remains.

Ralph Thomas, a Santee Sioux tribal member, later denied to the Lincoln Journal Star spitting on the memorial. When the incident happened, Ponca Chairman Fred LeRoy called for Thomas to be taken away but Thomas was not arrested and was allowed to stay.

During the 1960s, the school incinerated remains that were housed at the East Campus in Lincoln. The school says the bones were then taken to a local landfill.

Some believe there are still bones at the site where the memorial is now located. A specially trained search dog has located some bones -- which, after some confusion, have now been relocated and will be tested.

Get the Story:
Emotions run high as memorial for Native remains dedicated (The Lincoln Journal Star 10/3)
Santee Sioux upset over UNL memorial (The Omaha World-Herald 10/3)

Related Stories:
Found bones now missing from Neb. site (9/21)
School to examine uncovered bones (9/18)
Search dog finds Indian bones (9/13)
Memorial to remains to be dedicated (9/10)
Opinion: Why case of dumped bones matters (8/6)
Indian remains apparently dumped in landfill (7/24)