Echo Times

Issue date: 11/4/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Armando Morales Miwok representative Frank Ross inspects the fine arts center construction site at the College of Marin's Kentfield campus.

One week after a September groundbreaking ceremony for the College of Marin's new fine arts center, construction crews temporarily halted ongoing work after unearthing Native American burial site.

Bones along with other objects were among the findings, and after Marin County Coroner Kenneth Holms confirmed that the remains were human, and that the area was not a crime scene, an archeologist as well as Granton Rancheria representative Frank Ross examined the area.

The Marin Independent Journal reported that, under an agreement COM has with Granton Rancheria, any Native American remains found on school property are turned over to the likeliest of kin. Ross is a descendant of the Coastal Miwok tribe.

College of Marin staff and representatives of Native American organizations have remained tight lipped about the discovery, primarily because Indian burial sites have been robbed in the past.

The discovery of the remains of indigenous people is not rare in Marin County. Miwok graves have been uncovered throughout the area as this group called the area home for hundreds of years. More often than not, the sites are discovered during construction.

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