[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 49 (Friday, April 12, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E448]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE ARIZONA STATE MUSEUM ON THE 120TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS 
                                FOUNDING

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 12, 2013

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to recognize the Arizona 
State Museum on the 120th anniversary of its founding.
  Established by the territorial legislature in 1893, Arizona State 
Museum is the oldest and largest anthropology museum in the region, 
focusing on the indigenous cultures of Arizona, the American Southwest, 
and northern Mexico.
  The museum's seminal field research in the early 20th century is the 
foundation on which the very discipline of Southwest anthropology sits.
  The museum's laboratory research sets worldwide standards in object 
preservation.
  The museum's collections research continues to inform the world about 
the ancient, historic, and present-day southwestern cultures of this 
great nation.
  The museum's award-winning and nationally recognized exhibits and 
public programs celebrate the vibrant and enduring cultures of the 
region with international audiences.
  The museum's archaeological repository is the largest and busiest 
state-run facility in the country.
  The museum is a national model in working with Arizona's tribal 
leadership under NAGPRA, to repatriate items of cultural heritage, 
having respectfully returned or reinterred thousands of sets of human 
remains and funerary objects. The museum began this important work 
years before NAGPRA became law and continues to be a leader in this 
effort. Last year, an Arizona State Museum/Bureau of Indian Affairs 
joint project transferred 1,148 sets of human remains and 2,827 
funerary objects to the Hopi, Zuni, and White Mountain Apache tribes.
  As it cares for millions of artifacts in perpetuity, the museum is 
home to the world's largest collections of Southwest Indian pottery and 
American Indian basketry--both collections having been designated 
American Treasures.
  Best wishes to Arizona State Museum, itself a National Treasure, 
after a century and a score of national leadership in research, 
preservation, collections care, and public outreach.

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