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Kentucky park museum and state Cabinet at odds over return of Native American items

Slack Farm, near Uniontown, Kentucky
LRC Public Information
Slack Farm, near Uniontown, Kentucky

A debate is brewing over efforts to return artifacts at Kentucky's Blue Licks Battlefield State Park Pioneer Museum to the Shawnee tribe.

The dispute centers over repatriation, generally defined as "the act or process of restoring or returning something to the place of origin, allegiance or citizenship."

In this case, the question revolves around 274 items the Kentucky Tourism, Arts, & Heritage Cabinet say must be returned to the Shawnee under federal law. Advocates for the state park argued the Cabinet hasn't been transparent about the process.

Rep. Stephen West laid out park advocates' concerns.

"The question is, what is the rush?" West said. "The Cabinet doesn't represent the Shawnee tribe. In due deference to the tribe, they represent this Commonwealth of Kentucky. The Friends of the Park are taxpayers of the state of Kentucky. And so all they're asking for is transparency and opportunity ask questions.

But Sarah Cronan, general counsel for the Cabinet, pushed back on West's characterization of events and presented a case that federal rules dictate how the process should go. And while the deadline to repatriate the items isn't until January 2029, Cronan said the items need to be looked at on a case-by-case basis as soon as possible.

"There are timelines in it, depending on what object is discovered and at what stage of repatriation things are," she said. "The U.S. Senate has said delayed repatriation is a delay injustice for native peoples."

Cronan also warned that failure to comply with the new federal rule could result in over $2 million in fines for the state.

Josh James fell in love with college radio at Western Kentucky University's student station, New Rock 92 (now Revolution 91.7). After working as a DJ and program director, he knew he wanted to come home to Lexington and try his hand in public radio.