University of Michigan Completes Native Remains Inventory

Repatriation available to affiliated tribes

If you are a member of one of the named tribes or a lineal descendant, you can request return of the ancestral remains described in this notice on or after June 11, 2026. The University of Michigan determined the remains are affiliated with the Bay Mills Indian Community; Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians; Hannahville Indian Community; Keweenaw Bay Indian Community; Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Michigan; Little River Band of Ottawa Indians; Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians; Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi; Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi; Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians; Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan; and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Requests may be submitted by any one or more of those tribes (and, if joined, by the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians or Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians as non-federally recognized groups), or by a lineal descendant or other tribe/organization that shows cultural affiliation by a preponderance of the evidence; the University will decide among competing requests before repatriation.