Harvard Peabody to Return Trove of Native American Hair Clippings to Tribes
Published Date: 3/18/2025
Notice
Summary
Harvard's Peabody Museum has finished checking its collection of human remains and found they belong to Native American tribes and Native Hawaiian groups. These remains, mostly hair clippings from individuals collected decades ago, will be returned starting April 17, 2025. This means tribes can soon reclaim their ancestors, with no costs or delays expected.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Museum Identifies 13 Native Remains
The Peabody Museum completed an inventory and determined it holds the physical remains of 13 Native American individuals. The remains are hair clippings collected between 1930 and 1933 from three institutions and are identified as culturally affiliated with the Klamath Tribes; no associated funerary objects are present.
Repatriation Eligibility and Timing Rules
The museum may repatriate the identified remains on or after April 17, 2025. Repatriation requests may be submitted by any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization named in the notice, or by a lineal descendant or other tribe that shows by a preponderance of the evidence that it is culturally affiliated; if competing requests are received the museum will determine the most appropriate requestor and joint requests count as a single request.
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