FLAGSTAFF - Archaeologists curious about American Indian cultures dug up human remains and associated funerary objects at Canyon de Chelly decades ago, while some remains were taken for protection from erosion in the canyon with towering red sandstone walls.

Whatever the reason, the Navajo Nation wants hundreds of sets of human remains exhumed from the national monument on the reservation to be returned for proper burial. The tribe contends it is the rightful owner.

The Navajo Nation, whose members live on the country�s largest American Indian reservation, contends in a lawsuit filed earlier this month that the National Park Service has wrongfully held the remains in a collection in Tucson.

Since 1931, the federal agency has been charged with preserving the thousands of artifacts and ruins within the national monument near Chinle. But the land revered by Navajos as sacred remains tribally owned.

Canyon de Chelly Superintendent Tom Clark said the Park Service�s goal is to repatriate the items, but it first must determine whether any other tribes have cultural affiliation to them under a 1990 federal law known as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Clark said that law appears to conflict with the property rights of the Navajo Nation.

�Until we see how this plays out, we would not proceed to aggravate the situation,� he said Tuesday. �But we�ll see how it actually plays out and determine from there. Obviously, other tribes are interested .�