KODIAK, Alaska (AP) – After more than a year of storage at the Alutiiq Museum, the repatriated remains of at least 109 Alutiiq ancestors might be laid to rest this spring.

The museum’s executive director, April Laktonen, said staff is working with the Sun’aq Tribe to arrange for the remains to be buried in the city cemetery sometime within the next few months, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Tuesday.

The remains were originally going to be buried at in the Alutiiq Ancestors’ Memorial Park – for which the Alutiiq Heritage Foundation is currently fundraising – but zoning laws prohibit burial.

The remains were originally buried in a Russian Orthodox church graveyard near the site of a former Alutiiq village on Chirikof Island, located about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southwest of Kodiak Island. They then spent about 50 years at Indiana University, Bloomington, before being sent to Kodiak in February 2017.

It was the second biggest repatriation of human remains in Kodiak-area history and had been a top priority of the Alutiiq Heritage Foundation for more than 15 years.

Information from: Kodiak (Alaska) Daily Mirror, http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com

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