Bones found

Podesta Ranch Elementary School in Stockton is the site where human bones were found Thursday. The bones may be America Indian remains and were discovered by workers installing water lines. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)

Bones found

'Very old' remains, possibly American Indian, unearthed at Stockton school construction site

By Amanda Dyer
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Saturday, September 15, 2007 7:14 AM PDT

Comments (13 comment(s))

Workers building a new Lodi Unified school have discovered what district officials say could be American Indian remains.

Bone material was discovered by the workers as they installed water lines at the Podesta Ranch Elementary School site on Davis Road and Whistler Way in Stockton on Thursday,

The workers notified their manager, who alerted Art Hand, assistant superintendent of facility planning for Lodi Unified School District, at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Construction at the school site has been delayed until archeologists can determine whether there are any additional remains at the site, according to Ken Davis, Lodi Unified board president.

Confusion about whether the site was in city or county jurisdiction led to a late-night call to the San Joaquin County Coroner's Office.

A pathologist from the coroner's office arrived at the site Friday morning and confirmed that the fragments were, in fact, human remains and could be of American Indian heritage, according to Hand.

Hand said bone fragments, the longest of which are four to five inches long, were broken into many pieces, possibly by farming equipment.

"They are very old," he said.

Some of the fragments appear to be human knees from both the left and right legs.

Hand said remains had been found recently at another site to the west of Podesta Ranch.

He suspects the remains could belong to a member of the Miwok tribe.

"That's the only tribe that's being discussed right now," Hand said.

District officials are waiting to hear from representatives from the Native American Heritage Commission on what they should do with the remains.

The commission was established by the state Legislature in 1976, making it the official government agency that identifies and coordinates Native American resources, such as remains and sacred sites.

The district had made several calls to the commission but has yet to hear a response. A message left Friday afternoon by the News-Sentinel was not immediately returned.

Lodi Unified has since contacted Jones and Stokes, a Sacramento environmental firm. Archeologists from the firm visited the site Friday along with a representative sent by Stockton resident Katherine Perez, who often works with the commission when American Indian remains are found in the area.

Construction at Podesta Ranch began Aug. 30. The school is expected to cost $14 million with $7 million coming from Measure L funds and $7 million coming from the state. The school will house 822 students and is scheduled to open for the 2008-09 school year.

Contact reporter Amanda Dyer at amandad@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

RU4REAL wrote on Sep 28, 2007 4:24 PM:

" To Native Princesses: Please tell my why an American Indian grave is any more sacred than that of any other human being? My comments to Ayanna were simply meant to show a lack of care in the prep of her (I assume)email. My comments to you are meant to show a lack of respect, by you, of the worth of all human beings. The remains of American Idians have no more or less worth than those of any other human being. Get a life! "

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Native Princesses wrote on Sep 21, 2007 11:59 AM:

" All I have to say about this is that if it's a indian barial ground STOP construction that is so disreaspectful to their family and cultrue what if I were to dig up your grave site!!! "

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89144 wrote on Sep 21, 2007 9:11 AM:

" Can somebody please tell me which Podesta family the school was named after? Amanda Dyer -- a little background info in your reporting, please. "

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????????????? wrote on Sep 19, 2007 10:21 PM:

" Why have some comments been removed? "

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Audi 5000 wrote on Sep 19, 2007 3:28 PM:

" Hey Hand, stick with what you know (Admin!). How would you know they are the bones of Miwoks? The Indians killed a lot of settlers in San Joaquin County. Their bones must be somewhere. Ask that to the representative from the Native American Heritage Commission next time they come panhandling for more money. "

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MUSUME wrote on Sep 19, 2007 3:12 PM:

" I call dibs on the MUSUME blog name. RU4REAL makes a good point. What does RUKIDDINGME have against museums? I hope many more artifacts can be dug up for the public's consumption. "

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RUKIDDINGME wrote on Sep 19, 2007 12:08 PM:

" TO COMMENT ON THE DISCOVERY, THEY SHOULD NOT BE IN THE MUSEUM. THEY SHOULD BE RE-INTERN INTO THE GROUND FROM WHERE THEY CAME FROM. AS FAR AS "WHO CARES", WHERE IS THE HUMANITY IN LIFE IF WE DON'T CARE THEN WHATS THE POINT IN BURYING ANYONE! "

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To Doodad wrote on Sep 18, 2007 11:53 PM:

" clearly, you know nothing about laws concerning human remains...nor do you have respect for the dead. Also: I do feel bad for the developers because this will absolutely halt their project. "

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RU4REAL wrote on Sep 17, 2007 4:13 AM:

" Perhaps, Ayanna, they might even go as far as to put them in a MUSEUM. "

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DOODAD wrote on Sep 17, 2007 12:38 AM:

" Maybe they should just keep digging their trench. Who cares about some old pieces of bone? "

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Ayanna wrote on Sep 16, 2007 3:48 PM:

" Are they going to put bones in a musume? "

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Ovata wrote on Sep 16, 2007 1:48 AM:

" I think thats a grand idea. Its probably true. Nothing new and exciting about that. "