The continental interior of the United States—home to many Native American communities—is a region rich in fossils. Since the 19th century, fossils found on Native lands have been removed and placed in museums and universities without the consent of, or proper collaboration with, Native Tribes. Lawrence Bradley discusses the history of fossil dispossession from Sioux lands and the legal frameworks—or lack of—that allowed it to occur. He also examines the role that fossils taken from these lands have played in establishing vertebrate paleontology as a scientific discipline in the United States. Finally, he offers an approach to solving past and present disputes between Tribes and paleontologists.

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Presented by the Harvard Museum of Natural History, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, and the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture

Image credit: Bill Sitzman | Motion Photography