Harvard Museum to Return 221 Cultural Items to Tribes
Published Date: 6/17/2025
Notice
Summary
Harvard’s Peabody Museum plans to return 221 Native American cultural items, including sacred and funerary objects, to tribes connected to Tennessee sites. This repatriation will start on or after July 17, 2025, honoring Native American heritage and respecting their cultural treasures. No money changes hands, but the museum is ready to work closely with tribes to make this happen smoothly.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Peabody Museum to Return 221 Items
Harvard’s Peabody Museum intends to return 221 Native American cultural items to affiliated groups: 206 are identified as unassociated funerary objects and 15 as sacred objects. The repatriation may occur on or after July 17, 2025, and the museum states that no money will change hands in the transfers.
Affiliation Identified: Cherokee Tribes
The Peabody Museum has determined there is a reasonable cultural affiliation between the described items and the Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma. These affiliations are the basis for repatriation under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
How to Request Repatriation and Competing Claims
Lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations may submit additional written requests for repatriation to Deanna Byrd at the Peabody Museum (11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138) or the provided email addresses. Repatriation may occur on or after July 17, 2025; the museum must determine the appropriate requestor if competing requests are received, and joint repatriation requests are treated as a single request.
Some Items Are Not Currently Located
The notice states that some of the items described are not currently located at the Peabody Museum (for example, specific lots at multiple sites are noted as "not currently located"). This may affect which specific objects can be repatriated immediately.
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