海角大神

What does it mean to restore heritage?

When the 鈥溾�� exhibit opened Tuesday at the Chachalu Tribal Museum and Cultural Center, it represented a special kind of homecoming. Oregon鈥檚 Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde were proud of the museum they built just four years ago and further enhanced last month. But what resonated most were the show鈥檚 16 objects and the journey that brought them to Grand Ronde.聽

Their presence is the result of a patient campaign to repatriate tribal artifacts collected in the 1870s by Robert W. Summers, two decades after the United States forced members of some 30 tribes onto a reservation. The Episcopal minister bought them from impoverished tribal members to preserve their heritage. He later sold them to a friend, who ultimately gave them to the British Museum.

Three decades ago, the tribe reached out across the Atlantic. US law governing the return of such objects didn鈥檛 apply, and the tribe didn鈥檛 have proper storage facilities. But tribe members and museum officials started talking. This week, they shared the satisfaction of unveiling an exhibit, on loan for now, that speaks powerfully to the tribe鈥檚 sense of resilience, history, and home.

"It's a real privilege to be a part of this, where this material heritage is coming back to this community," the museum鈥檚 Amber Lincoln told The Associated Press. 聽

Cheryle Kennedy, the tribe鈥檚 chairwoman, said she was hopeful. "The healing of our people is happening."

Now to our five stories, which underscore the need for patience and dexterity as tough political and diplomatic tests loom.