On this web page, you'll find a reprint of an article from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde's newspaper, Smoke Signals, about their claim on the Willamette Meteorite and an essay about the Meteorite's newest home
On this web page, you'll find a reprint of an article from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde's newspaper, Smoke Signals, about their claim on the Willamette Meteorite and an essay about the Meteorite's newest home in New York's Museum of Natural History. At the end of this page, a newspaper article and a Museum announcement from June 2000 explain the settlement reached between the tribe and the New York museum. For background on the Meteorite go to:
The Amazing Heavenly and Earthly Journey of the Willamette Meteorite The Clackamas Indians' "Tomanowos" (Heavenly Visitor) comes to Oregon.
Strange Journey: Further Travels of the Willamette Meteorite The 16-ton meteorite takes a ride in a horse-cart, goes to court, sails down-river to visit a fair in Portland, and finally arrives in New York City.
Who Owns a Meteorite? In 1990, Oregon schoolchildren attempted to bring the Willamette Meteorite home in a campaign that went all the way to the US Congress.
Yet Another Journey for the Willamette Meteorite?
In early September 1999, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde launched a campaign for the return of the Willamette Meteorite from New York, basing their claim on the Native American Graves Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). This Act--made law in 1990 and designed to restore sacred items to the various tribes--requires the return of cemetery and religious objects as well as human remains. In early December 1999, the city council of West Linn voted to support the Tribes' effort to restore the Meteorite to Oregon and offered to maintain it at a spot near its original location in the city.
Meanwhile New York's Museum of Natural History plans to complete a $210 million renovation in February 2000. The Willamette Meteorite--valued by visitors and scholars for its scientific and educational significance--will have a prominent display in the new Hall of the Universe. A decision about ownership--a resolution of conflicting cultural, political, scientific and legal issues--will not be easy. In the year 2000, the subject of the Willamette Meteorite may again go to court.
UPDATE: A settlement was reached on June 22, 2000
From Smoke Signals, a publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe, November 15, 1999
By June Olson
On September 15, Ryan and Adrienne Heavy Head, repatriation consultants to the Grand Ronde Tribe, submitted a claim to the American Museum of Natural History asking for the return of a meteorite taken from Oregon.
Up until the early 19