Yale Peabody Museum Prepares to Repatriate Native American Remains and Artifacts
Published Date: 3/27/2025
Notice
Summary
Yale Peabody Museum has finished checking its collection and found human remains and objects linked to Native American tribes. Starting April 28, 2025, these remains and items can be returned to the tribes they belong to. This is a big step in respecting Native American heritage and following important laws.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
29 Native American Remains Eligible for Return
The Yale Peabody Museum has identified human remains representing at least 29 Native American individuals and seven associated funerary object lots that are culturally affiliated with a list of Indian Tribes named in this notice. Repatriation of these remains and objects may occur on or after April 28, 2025 to the identified tribes (including, for example, the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Citizen Potawatomi Nation; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Forest County Potawatomi Community; Hannahville Indian Community; Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; multiple Kickapoo groups; Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe bands; Omaha Tribe of Nebraska; Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, and many other tribes listed in the notice).
Who May Request Repatriation and Competing Requests
Written requests for repatriation may be submitted by any one or more of the Indian Tribes identified in this notice, or by any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in the notice that shows by a preponderance of the evidence that it has cultural affiliation. Repatriation to a requestor may occur on or after April 28, 2025; if competing requests are received, the Yale Peabody Museum must determine the most appropriate requestor, and joint repatriation requests are treated as a single (non-competing) request.
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