Wildlife Refuges and Museums Team Up for Bone Repatriation
Published Date: 5/16/2025
Notice
Summary
Several museums and wildlife refuges in South Carolina and beyond have finished checking their collections and found Native American human remains and burial items that belong to specific tribes. This means these items will be officially returned to the right Native communities, following important laws that protect Native heritage. No money changes hands, but the process honors history and culture with respect and care.
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
NAGPRA repatriation to affiliated tribes
The South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology; South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism; South Carolina State Museum; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Pinckney Island and Santee National Wildlife Refuges); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Research Laboratories of Archaeology; and Yale Peabody Museum completed inventories and determined cultural affiliation under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Human remains and associated funerary objects identified in those inventories will be returned to the affiliated Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and no money will change hands.
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Previous: 2025-08779, Notice of Inventory Completion: David A. Fredrickson Archaeological Collections Facility, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA
Sonoma State University just finished checking their collection of Native American artifacts and found they belong to certain tribes. This means these items will be returned to the right Native groups, following important laws that protect their heritage. No money changes hands, but the tribes get their cultural treasures back soon!
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The Institute for American Indian Studies in Connecticut is planning to return important cultural items to Native American tribes and Native Hawaiian groups. This move respects their heritage and follows the law protecting Native artifacts. The repatriation will happen soon, honoring the tribes' connection to these special objects without any cost to them.