Back in 1899, Swarthmore College natural history professor Spencer Trotter and student Bird T. Baldwin dug up a Lenape burial site in Chester County and set up an exhibit of human remains and artifacts on the college campus in Swarthmore.

The exhibit content, including the remains, was later lost.

Now, 124 years later, Swarthmore College is apologizing to Native Americans for disturbing the site, writes Frank Kummer for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“No matter the educational intentions or that these practices may have been commonplace at the time they occurred, these remains should have been treated with dignity and respect and should never have been removed from their burial site,” Swarthmore president Valerie Smith said in a statement.

The college is considering renaming a natural sciences building previously named after Professor Trotter.

There is no indication the unearthed remains are still on campus, Smith said, and no evidence the school holds any other Native American remains.

Swarthmore learned about the burial ground excavation from an April 2022 Philadelphia Inquirer story when Carol McCloskey wanted to donate a Lenape burial ground, known as Indian Knoll Farms, on her Newlin Township property to Native Americans.

The site had been designated a historical Lenape burial site in 1909 by Chester County.

Read more about Swarthmore College’s apology in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

This video highlights some of the oldest Native American footage available.