Inadvertent disinterment - Restoration or reinterment

Whether or not the society intends to study a disturbed Indian burial site and its contents, the director shall provide timely notification of the disturbed burial to the duly designated representative of the intertribal reinterment committee. Within a period of twenty-four hours, or as soon thereafter as practicable, from the time of receipt of such notification, the representative shall make an inspection of the burial site. The representative shall then make a determination as to whether the burial can be adequately and safely restored and protected in situ or, in the alternative, the contents of the burial should be disinterred completely and reinterred in another location. Archaeological testing of a disturbed human burial site to determine its spatial limits and integrity is an acceptable activity under this section to reach such determination regarding restoration in place or disinterment of human remains and burial goods. Prior to the restoration or disinterment of the burial, the intertribal reinterment committee shall attempt to determine the tribal identity or affiliation of the human remains and any burial goods interred in the burial site. If it is determined that the disturbed burial can be adequately and safely restored and protected in situ and any requisite consent of the private landowner has been secured, the intertribal reinterment committee shall, as soon as practicable and subsequent to the completion of any study conducted on the contents of the burial at the direction of the society, cause the burial to be backfilled, stabilized, and protected from further disturbance by the human activities or natural processes which caused the disturbance in the first instance. If, on the other hand, it is determined that the in situ restoration of the burial is not feasible and any requisite consent of the private landowner has been secured, the intertribal reinterment committee shall, as soon as practicable and subsequent to the completion of any study conducted on the contents of the burial at the direction of the society, cause the disinterred human remains and any and all burial goods to be reinterred on Indian lands within the boundaries of the appropriate Indian reservation, as determined by the intertribal reinterment committee. Each such restoration and reinterment shall provide an opportunity for appropriate tribal religious ceremony or ceremonies. The expenses inherent in each such restoration and reinterment activity must be exclusively and fully incurred by the appropriate tribal government, as determined by the intertribal reinterment committee. The disinterment of the contents of a burial must be conducted under the supervision of a qualified archaeologist in accordance with the procedures inherent in a standard archaeological and contextual analysis within the applicable scope of study as defined in section 40-02-03-01.