Harvard to Repatriate Native Teen's Hair from Indian School
Published Date: 3/19/2025
Notice
Summary
Harvard’s Peabody Museum has finished checking its collection and found hair clippings from a Native American teen linked to the Colorado River Indian Tribes. These remains were taken from the Fort Mohave Indian School in Arizona long ago and can be returned starting April 18, 2025. This means the museum is ready to give back these important cultural items to the right Native community.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Remains eligible for repatriation after April 18, 2025
If you are a member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes or a lineal descendant, you can submit a written request to have the hair clippings returned. Repatriation may occur on or after April 18, 2025, and requests may be submitted by the Colorado River Indian Tribes, any lineal descendant, or another tribe that shows by a preponderance of the evidence it is culturally affiliated; competing requests will be resolved by the museum and joint requests are treated as a single request.
Museum identifies remains and cultural affiliation
The Peabody Museum has determined it holds hair clippings from one Native American individual recorded as 15 years old and identified as "Chemehuevi," collected at Fort Mohave Indian School between 1930 and 1933 and donated to the museum in 1935. The museum found no associated funerary objects and determined the remains are affiliated with the Colorado River Indian Tribes of the Colorado River Indian Reservation, Arizona and California.
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Previous / Next Documents
Previous: 2025-04608, Notice of Inventory Completion: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Harvard’s Peabody Museum has finished checking some Native American hair samples collected long ago at the Sherman Institute in California. They’ve confirmed these remains belong to Native American individuals connected to the Cachil DeHe Band tribe. Starting April 18, 2025, these remains can be returned to the tribe, honoring their heritage and history.
Next: 2025-04610, Notice of Inventory Completion: School District of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
The School District of Philadelphia found human remains in a school closet and finished checking if they belong to any Native American tribe. They found no connection to any tribe or descendants. Starting April 18, 2025, the remains can be returned if requested, with no money involved.