McClung Museum Offers Back Native American Artifacts
Published Date: 8/21/2025
Notice
Summary
The University of Tennessee’s McClung Museum has finished checking its collection and found that some items belong to Native American tribes or Native Hawaiian groups. This means these groups can ask for their cultural objects back. If you’re part of these communities, now’s the time to connect with the museum—no money changes hands, but the process is official and important.
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Tribes Can Request Repatriation Under NAGPRA
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, McClung Museum completed an inventory under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and found associated funerary objects with a cultural affiliation to Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations named in this notice. If you are a member of those tribes or organizations, you can ask the museum to return those cultural objects, and the process does not involve payment for the items.
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Previous / Next Documents
Previous: 2025-15960, Notice of Inventory Completion: The University of Tennessee, Department of Anthropology, Knoxville, TN
The University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Department has finished checking their collection of Native American human remains and related items. They’ve confirmed these remains belong to specific Native tribes or Native Hawaiian groups. This means the university is ready to return these items to the right communities, following important laws that protect Native heritage.
Next: 2025-15962, Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History, Eugene, OR
The University of Oregon Museum finished checking its collection and found that some human remains belong to Native American tribes or Native Hawaiian groups. This means these remains can be returned to the right communities. If you’re part of these tribes or groups, now’s the time to connect with the museum to learn more or claim the remains.