Deerfield Memorial to Return Lone Tribal Skull
Published Date: 3/17/2025
Notice
Summary
The Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association in Deerfield, MA, has finished checking their collection and found one Native American skull that’s ready to be returned to the right tribe. This return can start on or after April 16, 2025, with no money involved—just respect and care. If you’re connected or curious, now’s the time to reach out and learn more!
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Three Shawnee Tribes Identified
The Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association says one set of Native American human remains (a cranium representing one individual) is culturally affiliated with the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, and the Shawnee Tribe. The skull was acquired by donation in 1885 and has no associated funerary objects.
Who May Request Repatriation and When
Written requests for repatriation may be sent to the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association by any one or more of the three tribes named, or by a lineal descendant or other tribe that shows by a preponderance of the evidence they are affiliated. Repatriation may occur on or after April 16, 2025; if competing requests are received, the Association must determine the most appropriate requestor, and joint requests are treated as a single request.
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