Aniak’s tribal government is suing state and federal agencies for allegedly taking human remains from a burial site discovered beneath the local airport — and not returning them.
The Aniak Traditional Council, the federally recognized tribe for the Kuskokwim River community about 90 miles northeast of Bethel, says the actions of the federal and state agencies are a violation of federal law. Its suit, filed in U.S. District Court, claims they have barred the tribe from practicing its cultural and religious traditions, and have endangered other ancestral remains of Aniak’s tribe that could still be at the community’s airport.
The suit names five defendants: the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and DOTPF Commissioner Ryan Anderson; the Federal Aviation Administration and FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker; and the University of Alaska system.
The Traditional Council is represented by Anchorage-based law firm Fortier & Mikko, P.C.
The tribe wants the excavated remains to be returned. It also seeks permission to continue exploring the site to recover and preserve other remains or cultural artifacts.
According to the complaint, filed Tuesday, the suit stems from a project to relocate Aniak’s airport runway to comply with federal aviation standards.
In 2020, a contractor digging trenches for the project found human remains. Almost a year later, the Traditional Council brought in an archaeologist to examine the site. The suit says the archaeologist discovered that the airport project cut a trench through a “previously intact prehistoric burial site.”
The recovered remains and related artifacts were sent to the University of Alaska for examination.
Since then, the Traditional Council says that the University of Alaska has kept the remains. It also claims that the FAA has refused to assist in repatriating them, a violation of the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
The Traditional Council also claims that the FAA and DOTPF have barred the tribe from conducting further excavation. Aniak’s tribal government is concerned that airport maintenance could further disturb the site.
An FAA spokesperson said Wednesday that the agency does not comment on litigation.
