When Wayne Perank opened the Uintah Basin Standard newspaper in March 2001, he was horrified by a photo: the skull of a young girl, probably a relative of his, stuck on a fence post as if it were a headhunter's trophy.
She died long ago, possibly in the 19th or early 20th century, maybe even before that. But Perank was still shocked to see her skull displayed as a grisly decoration, token of disrespect or warning to trespassers.
The skull was discovered as a result of a raid on property of Robert Bruce Hey in the tiny settlement of Utahn, Duchesne County, about 10 miles north of Duchesne. Officers were seeking firearms that could be evidence of an assault. To their astonishment, they stumbled upon a massive, sophisticated, underground marijuana-growing operation.
They also found the skull on a juniper fence post, along with a coyote skull. The human skull was photographed, with the picture running in the Roosevelt newspaper, and turned over to the state medical examiner.
The examiner found that it was very old and probably belonged to a young girl.
Since that raid, the assault charges were dropped. Last week Hey pleaded guilty to federal marijuana and firearms violations.
On Feb. 18, 2003, Hey is to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Cassell. He faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years for marijuana cultivation with a possible maximum of 40 years and a $2 million fine, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Rich McKelvie.
On the second charge, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the maximum possible sentence is 10 years and a $250,000 fine.
What concerns Perank, a resident of Myton, Duchesne County, and a member of the Ute Indian Tribe, is that nobody has been charged with desecration of human remains. He wants to see a prosecution of anyone responsible for removing the skull from its grave and putting it on the post.
He is also worried about a road construction project nearby that he fears someday might extend onto the burial grounds. In addition, he is afraid the road could damage a historic racetrack Indian people used. About 200 or 300 people would gather there, performing ceremonies, dancing, and racing horses.
Seeing the photo of the skull and reading the article, Perank told the Deseret News, he felt horrible. "We knew where it came from." Indian burial sites are known to be in the vicinity, he said. His family owns an allotment of land not far from the graves.
Someone "had more than likely gotten into our family grave sites," Perank said.
"Our families lived there," he said of a river area close to the burial ground. "All of the families there were pretty well related to one another."
They would take their dead to the hills for burial. "That's what they did, hoping and thinking that they would be in an area that was protected."
His ancestors could never have dreamed that someday a grave would be vandalized, and a body part "just displayed on a post."
On Tuesday, Perank and his wife, Jolene Perank, addressed a meeting of the state's Native American Remains Review Committee, outlining the skull desecration and road blading issues. The committee — which advises Kevin Jones, the state archaeologist — voted to take action.
The group asked that officials look into whether charges have been filed, and to ask that an investigation ensue if they have not.
Forrest S. Cuch, director of the Utah Division of Indian Affairs and a member of the committee, sent a letter about the situation to Duchesne County Attorney Herb Gillespie.
Contacted by telephone at his office in Duchesne, Gillespie said he had received Cuch's letter. He met Wednesday with Wayne and Jolene Perank, hearing about the skull and their concerns over possible damage from road construction.
"I told them I would look into that," he said.
Jones said nothing can be done to prevent construction of a road on private land if it does not damage human remains. However, the archaeologist added, "There are graves and an old campsite" in the vicinity.
Also, he said, it's against the law to disturb, remove or damage human remains. If any remains appear during road construction, they must be reported to the sheriff.
"Not reporting it is a violation of the statute," Jones said, "and removing or destroying human remains is a felony."
E-mail: bau@desnews.com