ABSTRACT
A dynamic landscape of relations exists between Native Americans and the American academic community, and as the final days of the twentieth century approach, it is important for us to contemplate the legacy of relationships that we will pass along to our successors. The topic of repatriation has played a prominent role in shaping this legacy in recent years, particularly for archaeologists. Many archaeologists and most physical anthropologists focused very quickly on the religious perspectives which figured so prominently and consistently in the objections of Indian leaders, and the issue was framed as one of science versus religion. Racialism is the cultural idea that humankind is composed of racial groups that are biologically distinguishable according to physical attributes that are arbitrary in selection, definition, and application. Racialism is purely faith-based because it believes without scientific evidence that the concept of race offers a valid depiction of human biological diversity.
