Tennessee and Kansas Team Up to Repatriate Native American Remains
Published Date: 4/30/2025
Notice
Summary
The University of Tennessee and Kansas State Historical Society finished checking old human remains and artifacts. They found these items belong to Native American tribes or Native Hawaiian groups. This means the items will be returned to the right communities, following important laws, with no cost or deadlines for the public.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Inventory Completed Under NAGPRA
The University of Tennessee and the Kansas State Historical Society completed inventories of human remains and associated funerary objects under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). They determined there is a cultural affiliation between those remains/objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations.
Repatriation to Affiliated Tribes and Groups
The notice states that the human remains and associated funerary objects that were identified as culturally affiliated will be returned to the affiliated Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in accordance with NAGPRA. Those affiliated communities will receive the remains and associated funerary objects.
No Public Cost or Deadlines
The notice states the returns will follow NAGPRA "with no cost or deadlines for the public." That means members of the public are not required to pay fees or meet public claim deadlines in connection with these repatriations.
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Previous / Next Documents
Previous: 2025-07437, Notice of Inventory Completion: University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
The University of California, Berkeley finished checking its collection of Native American human remains and related items. They found a clear connection between these remains and certain Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian groups. This means the university is ready to work on returning these items to the right communities, following important laws, with no cost to the public.
Next: 2025-07439, Notice of Inventory Completion: California Department of Transportation, Oakland, CA
Caltrans has finished checking and listing certain Native American items connected to tribes and Native Hawaiian groups. This means these items are officially recognized and ready to be returned to their rightful communities. If you’re part of these tribes or groups, keep an eye out for how and when these objects will be handed back—no money changes hands, just respect and care.