University Museum Catalogs 43 Ancestral Remains for Tribal Return
Published Date: 4/2/2026
Notice
Summary
The C.T. Hurst Museum at Western Colorado University has finished checking its collection of Native American human remains and sacred items. They found 43 individuals and 155 special objects connected to several tribes, mostly from the Southwest. Starting May 4, 2026, these remains and items can be returned to the rightful Native communities, following important cultural rules.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Repatriation Available May 4, 2026
Starting May 4, 2026, the C.T. Hurst Museum will allow repatriation requests for 43 Native American individuals and 155 associated funerary objects. Eligible requestors include any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations named in the notice, or lineal descendants or other tribes/organizations who show cultural affiliation by a preponderance of the evidence.
Affiliation Identified To Four Tribes
The C.T. Hurst Museum determined a cultural affiliation between the remains/objects and the Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Those named tribes are explicitly identified as affiliated parties in the notice and may request repatriation.
Inventory Details: 43 Remains, 155 Objects
The museum inventory lists human remains representing at least 43 individuals and 155 associated funerary objects (pottery, carved stone sacred objects, shell bracelets, and a ring with a human scalp), with collection locations including Southwestern sites and collectors active in the 1920s–1940s. The museum will accept written repatriation requests sent to its director at the address and email in the notice.
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