A skull found on a possible Indian burial site or old trading post near Canby could cause controversy four years after it was discovered.

The skull was found in 1996 on land near the Molalla River that is planned to be excavated for gravel.

Representatives from The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde of Oregon are due to visit the site Wednesday morning, but did not return a call before press time Monday evening.

Pacific Rock Products Inc. of Vancouver, Wash., part of a large multinational corporation, bought the land for $1.92 million on Nov. 21, 1996 - two days after the skull was found, title records show.

The site is approved for mining, and the company had its application to increase annual aggregate extraction from 150,000 cubic yards per year to 3 million tons per year approved on a 2-1 vote by the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners earlier this year.

The fact a skull was found on the land was not mentioned during the lengthy county planning and board consideration process.

"The part of land where we found the skull has not been mined yet," said Tammy Miller, whose mother found the skull Nov. 19, 1996.

"Previously, there was mining done there near an old rock pit dug in the last 10 years . . . (The skull) could be a chief's because I think it is Indian custom to bury their chiefs near water." Under Oregon law, "it is illegal to remove or destroy Indian human remains or burial sites on state, public or private land in Oregon," according to Karen Quigley of the Legislative Commission on Indian Services in Salem. "If remains are discovered during activities like mining, logging or construction, they must be reinterred under the supervision of the appropriate Indian tribe." The skull was discovered by Arlene Miller, whose family has lived on land near the mine site at 25000 S. Barlow Road for at least 40 years.

The cranium was found at the bottom of a dirt dike that had been partially washed away in the February 1996 floods, during which a dike broke on the property.

"The skull was on pile of dirt that had fallen from the side of the dike in the past few hours," according to a report written on the day by Clackamas County Deputy Tracy L. Anderson. "The skull was approximately 180 feet from a PGE utility pole . . . at the edge of the dike."

Anderson reported Arlene Miller told him "there was an Indian burial ground near by in Canby . . . and that several items of Indian ancestry have been located in the area, such as arrowheads, flints, stone bowls and utensils."

The Barlow Road area is perfectly situated near two rivers with ample, fertile land for hunting, gathering, farming and berrypicking. The land attracted tribes to the region.

What has happened to the skull in the last four years is unclear.

The skull was seized by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office and placed into evidence for an investigation. Anderson reported he also found a small piece of bone, which he placed in an evidence bag with the skull.

The deputy took photos of the scene and of the skull in the evidence room, but his report said all of "the pictures were blank" when they returned from the processing lab.

Deputy Angie Blanchard, after searching through the sheriff's office's archive records, said documents show the skull was sent to The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon by the county medical examiner.

Dr. John Lundy of the Oregon State Medical Examiner's Office "determined the cranium to be native from the intentional head shaping from use of a special cradle board," according to a Nov. 26, 1996, letter signed by Robert R. Kentta, a cultural resources protection specialist with The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon.

Arlene Miller told the deputy she was walking down to check on the water level near her house when she noticed what at first appeared to be a large rock. As she approached she saw what appeared to be a dirty rock with holes in it. She soon realized the holes were for eyes, and the rock was actually human remains.

She told Anderson she had found "piles of flints and arrowheads in the past in the area (and) Indian bowls and utensils made out of rocks."

Then-mine site operator Gary Wilmes told Anderson there was an Indian burial ground "up on the hill in Canby and he believes this (find) is probably more of that.

''Mr. Wilmes told me that the area has not been touched for years where the dike is and, about 20 years or so ago, the area was covered in very large trees before it was logged."

Gravel mining has the potential to threaten discoveries about the Native Americans who roamed this fertile land in centuries past.

Pieces of colored glassware dated 1901, earthenware and pottery, one with a Sheffield, England, seal, also have been found by the Miller family and others. The discovered items suggest the location may once have served as a trading post, or store.

And, as time is of the essence, Tammy Miller and her friend Nathan Brown are hoping mining will cease - at least until a thorough investigation can be conducted.

The local teen-agers believe the site should have been scoured for skeletons, relics and artifacts far earlier than now, and they question why the issue of the skull has not been addressed.

"The rest of that body, and possibly others, have to be around there somewhere," Tammy Miller said.

"We recently found a new arrowhead, so we're thinking there are more artifacts out there to be found."

The teens contacted numerous Indian tribes, and The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde have taken an interest, they said. "They said they were angry they didn't know about it sooner," Nathan Miller said.

Officials from the tribe plan to tour the site today, and have contacted the Siletz, Warm Springs and other tribes.

Miller and Brown presented some Native American artifacts, mainly arrowheads, at the Canby City Council's June 21 meeting. The site is outside the city, and falls under Clackamas County's jurisdiction.

Brown has made a 12-minute documentary about the site, showing how the land is being cut up by daily digging, and how the area is a habitat for Canadian geese, deer, cougars and coyotes.

He said an osprey nesting site is located close to the mine site.

Under the state's revamped Goal 5 rules, aggregate is viewed as a natural resource. As a result, gravel companies have found it easier in recent years to get mining applications approved on land zoned exclusive farm use.

The Canby, Molalla and Aurora areas, among many others within Oregon, were home to numerous Indian tribes.

An Indian burial ground was discovered by workers digging near the Top O' Hill restaurant on the right-hand side of Highway 99E about five years ago.

"The thing that really scares us is they're digging now, as we speak, in a place that we think is an Indian burial ground," said Tammy Miller, who said she is three generations part-Indian. "Doesn't that bother anyone?"