Texas Unis Update Ancestral Remains List for Tribal Return
Published Date: 11/18/2025
Notice
Summary
Trinity University and the University of Texas labs updated their list of Native American tribes connected to certain human remains and artifacts. This change means these items can be returned to the right tribes starting December 18, 2025. No money is involved, but the update helps make sure the repatriation is done respectfully and correctly.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Tribes identified for repatriation
Trinity University and two University of Texas labs determined that certain human remains and associated funerary objects are culturally affiliated with specific Indian Tribes and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, including the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas; Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; Shawnee Tribe; The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; Thlopthlocco Tribal Town; Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco, & Tawakonie), Oklahoma; and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo. This determination means those items can be repatriated to the identified tribes starting December 18, 2025. No money is involved in this action; it updates which tribes are recognized as culturally affiliated so repatriation can proceed respectfully and correctly.
Who may request repatriation and process rules
Repatriation requests for the remains and funerary objects may be submitted starting December 18, 2025. Requests may come from any one or more of the tribes named in this notice, or from a lineal descendant or other tribe/Native Hawaiian organization that proves cultural affiliation by a preponderance of the evidence; joint requests count as a single request, and if competing requests are received the institutions must determine the most appropriate requestor before repatriation.
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