BIA Completes Inventory for Nambe Pueblo Ancestral Remains
Published Date: 4/18/2025
Notice
Summary
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has finished checking and identifying human remains and artifacts linked to the Nambe Pueblo tribe. These items, found during digs in the 1960s, will be returned to the tribe starting May 19, 2025. This means the tribe can reclaim their ancestors' remains and cultural objects, honoring their heritage and history.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Repatriation to Nambe Pueblo Begins
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has determined the human remains and funerary objects are affiliated with the Pueblo of Nambe and those items — human remains representing at least 11 individuals and 157 associated funerary objects — may be returned to Nambe Pueblo on or after May 19, 2025.
Who Can Request Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation must be sent to Tamara Billie, NAGPRA Manager, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1001 Indian School Road NW, Mailbox 44, Albuquerque, NM 87104 (telephone (505) 879-9711; email tamara.billie@bia.gov). Requests may be submitted by any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization identified in this notice, or by a lineal descendant or tribe/organization not identified who shows by a preponderance of the evidence a cultural affiliation; if competing requests arise, the Bureau of Indian Affairs will determine the most appropriate requestor.
Inventory Identifies Specific Items
The inventory lists human remains for at least 11 individuals and 157 associated funerary objects, described in detail (for example: 49 lots of ceramic sherds, 22 lots of groundstone, 20 lots of lithics, five lots of pipes, and other categories). The Museum of New Mexico excavated the site June 16–July 8, 1966, and some remains were donated from a 1964 private collection; ceramics indicate occupation no earlier than A.D. 1200.
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