Idaho Repository Prepares Ancient Remains and Burial Items for Repatriation
Published Date: 6/17/2025
Notice
Summary
The Archaeological Survey of Idaho Western Repository has finished checking and listing 19 ancient human remains and 26 burial items found in Idaho. These remains are linked to Native American tribes, and starting July 17, 2025, they can be returned to those tribes. This is a big step in respecting Native heritage and following important laws.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Tribes Eligible to Receive Remains
If you are a member of the Nez Perce Tribe, the Shoshone Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation, or the Shoshone Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, Nevada, the Archaeological Survey of Idaho–Western Repository (ASI-WR) has identified a cultural affiliation and may return 19 Native American human remains and 26 associated funerary objects (stone tools, shell beads, bone tools, and ochre). The remains were excavated in 1967–1968 and interred between 3000 and 6000 years before present; repatriation may occur on or after July 17, 2025.
Who May Request Repatriation and How
Requests for repatriation may be submitted by any one or more of the three named Indian Tribes, or by any lineal descendant or Indian Tribe/Native Hawaiian organization not named that shows by a preponderance of the evidence a cultural affiliation. ASI-WR will accept written requests (sent to the contacts in the notice), may treat joint requests as a single request, and if competing requests are received ASI-WR must determine the most appropriate requestor before repatriation.
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