TULSA, Okla. - The remains of some ancient Quapaw Indians unearthed about four decades ago in northeastern Arkansas will be returned by a Tulsa museum to be reburied.

The Gilcrease Museum found the unassembled remains of 161 Quapaws _ who probably lived between 1170 and 1300 A.D. _ in storage six years ago. Museum officials say it's the first time the Gilcrease has planned a return of remains and artifacts to an American Indian tribe but it probably won't be the last.

The process is being aided by the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act, or NAGRA. When the remains are reburied, they will be near Wynne, Ark., in a plot set aside for that purpose by Parkin State Park.

The Quapaws lived in northeastern Arkansas before they were moved west to Indian Territory _ which later became Oklahoma _ in the 19th century.

"To me, it's not just anonymous remains; you have people with life stories," said Carrie Wilson, the NAGRA officer for the Quapaw Tribe, which is based in Quapaw, Okla. "In this case, it's our ancestors. It was a hard life, and now I have an affection for what they went through."

The remains and other artifacts were discovered in the mid-1960s on a farm near Lunsford, Ark., museum officials said. Thomas Gilcrease did extensive work in the area, said the museum's collections manager, Randy Ramer.

The museum's 86 boxes of Quapaw artifacts include 77 restored ceramic vessels and 938 lithic tools, among other items. Ramer said the museum has completed its analysis of the remains.

Quapaw tribal chairman John Berrey said that while it's good that the museum is returning the remains, it's taken far too long for it to happen.

"This is very serious and very sad for us," Berrey said. "We had hoped that the Gilcrease would work more with the tribes on issues like these."

The delay can be attributed to lack of funding for the process of repatriating the remains, said Robert Brooks, a state archaeologist at the University of Oklahoma. Ramer said the museum is working with the city of Tulsa to fund the return of the remains.

"I don't think it's stonewalling here," Brooks said. "If you think of the countless thousands of repositories submitting inventories on remains, it's a long process to seeing them completed."

Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com

A service of the Associated Press(AP)