The Aniak tribal government is suing state and federal authorities for allegedly stealing – and failing to return – human remains from a burial site discovered beneath the local airport.

The Aniak Traditional Council, the federally recognized tribe of the Kuskokwim River community, says the actions of federal and state authorities are a violation of federal law. In its lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, it claims they have prohibited the tribe from practicing its cultural and religious traditions and endangered other Aniak Tribe ancestral remains that may still be at the community's airport.

The lawsuit names five defendants: the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and DOTPF Commissioner Ryan Anderson, the Federal Aviation Administration and FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker, and the University of Alaska.

The Traditional Council is represented by the Anchorage-based law firm Fortier & Mikko, PC

The tribe wants to reclaim the excavated remains and be permitted to continue exploring the site to recover and preserve additional remains or cultural artifacts.

According to the lawsuit filed Tuesday, the lawsuit concerns a project to relocate Aniak Airport's runway to bring it into compliance with federal aviation standards.

In 2020, a contractor digging trenches for the project found human remains. Almost a year later, the Traditional Council hired an archaeologist to investigate the site. The lawsuit says the archaeologist discovered that the airport project had dug a trench through a “previously intact prehistoric burial site.”

The recovered remains and associated artifacts were sent to the University of Alaska for examination.

Since then, the Traditional Council says, the University of Alaska has held the remains. It also claims the FAA has refused to help repatriate the remains, a violation of the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

The Traditional Council also claims that the FAA and DOTPF have prohibited the tribe from further excavations. The Aniak tribal government fears that airport maintenance could further impact the site.

An FAA spokesman said Wednesday that the agency would not comment on the litigation.