Thousand year old skull found on Stikine awaits interment

WRANGELL — A skull found by a hunter near the Stikine River almost three years ago has yet to be interred.

Wrangell resident Vena Stough discovered the skull while at Government Slough on Oct. 5, 2012, and brought it to the local police department. From there it made its way to United States Forest Service offices in Petersburg for further analysis.

“What we try to do is figure out if it’s Native American ancestry,” explained Jane Smith, an archaeologist for the USFS for 23 years.

The repatriation process is governed by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which protects...