# 2025-11138: Harvard Museum to Return 221 Cultural Items to Tribes

2025-11138, Notice of Intended Repatriation: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, is a Federal Register notice from Interior Department, National Park Service published 2025-06-17, effective 2025-07-17 (as of 2026-11-03).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-11138
- As of: 2026-11-03
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2025-11138
- Title: Notice of Intended Repatriation: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: Interior Department; National Park Service
- Citation: 90 FR 25636
- Published: 2025-06-17
- Effective: 2025-07-17
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: no
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-11-03

## In one line

Harvard Museum to Return 221 Cultural Items to Tribes

## 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.

## Abstract

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University (PMAE) intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects or sacred objects and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

## Effects PRIA read

- Peabody Museum to Return 221 Items: benefit, high. 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 transf…
- Affiliation Identified: Cherokee Tribes: benefit, high. 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 Ameri…
- How to Request Repatriation and Competing Claims: benefit, medium. 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 mu…
- Some Items Are Not Currently Located: cost, low. 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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## Sources
- [2025-11138 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/06/17/2025-11138/notice-of-intended-repatriation-peabody-museum-of-archaeology-and-ethnology-harvard-university)
- [2025-11138 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-06-17/pdf/2025-11138.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2025-11137, Notice of Intended Repatriation: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Franci…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-11137)
- [Next: 2025-11139, Notice of Inventory Completion: Yale Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-11139)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-11138 (as of 2026-11-03).