The lottery for entry into the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony opens this morning at 10 a.m., if that’s your thing.

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS:

Beyond objects, the Smithsonian has a collection that is incredibly sacred to indigenous populations. At a secure center in Suitland—well out of view of museum-goers—the institution keeps thousands of human remains, and many among them are indigenous individuals. Natural History counts about 30,000 human remains in its care, which includes native and non-native people. On this week’s cover of City Paper, a look at the offices responsible for repatriating remains and sacred items. Some highlights:

  • Repatriation can also be expensive for communities. Often, tribal groups must fund it themselves—a figure that can reach the tens of thousands of dollars.

  • In 1990, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) required that indigenous groups be consulted whenever workers on archeological investigations encountered, or expected to encounter, remains and cultural items, or when people unexpectedly discovered such items on federal or tribal lands. This legislation does not apply to privately held collections, and there is no official international repatriation law. —Kayla Randall

MORE NEWS:

  • D.C. Council pressures Muriel Bowser to force Providence Hospital to remain open. [Post]

  • Capitals beat the Rangers with an overtime goal from Matt Niskanen. [Twitter]

  • Another option for high school students living in underserved neighborhoods. [Post]

  • Employment numbers are up for those with disabilities, but that’s not necessarily the case for black workers. [WAMU]

  • Jack Evans pushes the Council to legalize sports betting. [WTOP]

  • Incessant Purple Line construction at all hours of the night is driving neighbors batty. [Post]

  • Savage Love: What do I do now that my employee attends the same sex club as me? [WCP]

  • Halloween: The D.C. area’s spookiest stories, ranked. [WCP]

YOUNG & HUNGRY LINKS, by Laura Hayes (tips? lhayes@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • Feeding Pro Athletes, Cooking for Kids: A restaurant isn’t the only place for a chef. [WCP]

  • Three of People’s 10 sexiest chefs are from D.C. [People]

  • Look for a cold-weather dessert. [Eater]

ARTS LINKS, by Matt Cohen (tips? mcohen@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • David Gordon Green reinvigorates Halloween for a new generation. [WCP]

  • Start collecting art on the cheap at the upcoming Superfine! Fair. [DCist]

  • D.C.’s 18th neighborhood heritage trail will be in Eckington. [The DC Line]

  • Park Snakes on playing a show in a grocery store. [Post]

SPORTS LINKS, by Kelyn Soong (tips? ksoong@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • D.C. promoted Audi Field as the team’s cure-all. Reporter Seth Vertelney checks in on what strides the franchise has made since the stadium’s debut in July. [WCP]

  • The Professional Fighters League, an upstart mixed martial arts league in its first year, will return to D.C. this Saturday for the playoffs. [WCP]

  • Longtime D.C. sports reporter Rich Tandler, most recently of NBC Sports Washington, passed away unexpectedly Tuesday night at 63. The local NFL team will pay tribute to him by keeping his press box seat unoccupied. [NBC Sports]

  • Wizards head into tonight’s season opener with reason for confidence. [WCP]

HAPPENING TODAY, byKayla Randall (tips? krandall@washingtoncitypaper.com)

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