Mississippi Forests Up for Grabs: USDA Plans Land Giveaway
Published Date: 12/16/2025
Notice
Summary
The U.S. Forest Service in Mississippi plans to return the remains of at least three Native American individuals and their burial items to their rightful tribes or descendants starting January 15, 2026. If no one claims them by December 16, 2026, these remains and objects will be considered unclaimed. This affects tribes connected to the Little Spanish Fort site and involves important cultural artifacts found during a 1993 excavation.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Repatriation priority for Choctaw tribes
The Forest Service intends to return the human remains of at least three Native American individuals and 10 boxes of associated funerary objects from the Little Spanish Fort site (22Sh522) in Sharkey County, Mississippi. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma have priority for disposition; disposition may occur on or after January 15, 2026.
Who can claim and claim deadline
Written claims to receive the remains and objects must be sent to the Heritage Program Manager in Jackson, MS and may be submitted by any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization identified in the notice. Claims must be received by December 16, 2026; others not identified may claim if they show by a preponderance of the evidence that they have priority, and joint disposition requests are treated as a single request.
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