Tennessee Agency Returns Ancient Pottery and Necklace to Native Tribes
Published Date: 11/17/2025
Notice
Summary
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation plans to return 13 Native American cultural items found in Davidson County to the affiliated tribes starting December 17, 2025. These items include pottery shards, a limestone necklace, and an ear plug, all carefully handled and free from hazards. This repatriation honors Native American heritage and follows federal law, with no costs or delays expected.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Return of 13 Native American Items
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC-DOA) intends to return 13 unassociated funerary objects from Davidson County, Tennessee — including ceramic sherds, a banded limestone gorget, a calcite ear plug, lithic artifacts, copper beads, a ceramic frog effigy, a ceramic bowl, and shell beads — to affiliated Indian Tribes. The repatriation may occur on or after December 17, 2025, and the items have been identified as culturally affiliated with the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas; Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Shawnee Tribe; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
Who May Request Repatriation
Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in the notice may submit a written request for repatriation to TDEC-DOA if they show by a preponderance of the evidence that they are a lineal descendant or are culturally affiliated. Requests must be sent to Phillip R. Hodge, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology (TDEC-DOA), 1216 Foster Avenue, Cole Building #3, Nashville, TN 37243; repatriation to an approved requestor may occur on or after December 17, 2025; competing requests will be resolved by TDEC-DOA and joint requests are treated as a single request.
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Previous: 2025-19955, Notice of Inventory Completion: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, Nashville, TN
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has finished listing human remains and artifacts found in Davidson County, Tennessee. These remains belong to Native American tribes, and starting December 17, 2025, they can be returned to the tribes. This process respects Native heritage and involves no costs or hazards to the public.
Next: 2025-19957, Notice of Inventory Completion: Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ
The Heard Museum in Phoenix has finished checking its collection and found human remains and 30 related items linked to Native American tribes. Starting December 17, 2025, these remains and objects can be returned to the tribes. This is a big step in respecting Native heritage and making sure these items go back to their rightful communities.