1940’s Grave robber dug up several Native Americans – now, they’re in WCU

GUNNISON, Colo. (KREX) — For more than 100 years, Western Colorado University has been serving students primarily in liberal arts and sciences.

But a massive historical collection of ancient artifacts sat hidden, tucked away in the back of university’s closets and crawlspaces for decades…until about 1989, when Professor Mark Stiger came upon this forgotten lot.

Professor and Curator David Hyde tells Western Slope Now the university museum holds more than 250,000 artifacts. Most of the finds come from C.T. Hurst, a past teacher and archaeologist in the 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s.

However, not all of the artifacts came from Hurst – locals donated some of them in the early days, and not all were pleasant finds.

Western Colorado University has the remains of 40 individuals – 25 of them are from Peterson.

The Peterson brothers were two very different people – one an alum of Western Colorado University, the other – a grave robber.

Hyde tells Western Slope Now the robbing brother passed away and left the other brother with the remains. The Peterson brother left the remains on the university’s doorstep – the university took those remains and other donated artifacts and simply stored them away.

NAGPRA, the Native American Grave Protection Repatriation Act passed in 1990, right after Stiger discovered those remains which cannot be photographed.

The act requires Native American remains to be returned to their tribe, but Stiger found tracking down the right tribe was more difficult than expected.

Defeated, Stiger left the remains with the college, and here they still sit today.

But maybe not for long – Professor Hyde picked up where Stiger left off and even got a grant last fall to help find the place these looted bodies will eventually call home. Hyde is currently attempting to set up meetings with local tribal leaders.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WesternSlopeNow.com.