Harvard Museum to Return Native American Artifacts to Tribes
Published Date: 12/16/2025
Notice
Summary
Harvard’s Peabody Museum plans to return 30 cultural items like sacred objects and funerary artifacts to Native American tribes connected to Arizona sites. This repatriation will start on or after January 15, 2026, honoring Native communities and their heritage. No money changes hands, but this is a big step in respecting cultural history and following the law.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Peabody to Return 30 Cultural Items
If you are a member of the Ak-Chin Indian Community; Gila River Indian Community; Hopi Tribe; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community; Tohono O'odham Nation; or the Zuni Tribe, the Peabody Museum intends to return 30 cultural items (13 unassociated funerary objects, 15 sacred objects, and 2 objects of cultural patrimony) on or after January 15, 2026. The items include shells, stone, ceramic, wood, bone, turquoise, and other materials; no money changes hands in this repatriation.
How Other Claimants May Request Items
If you are a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization not listed, you may send a written request for repatriation to Jane Pickering at the Peabody Museum (11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138; email provided in notice) and must show by a preponderance of the evidence that you are culturally affiliated. The Peabody Museum will decide between competing requests before repatriation; joint repatriation requests are treated as a single request, and repatriation may occur on or after January 15, 2026.
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Previous / Next Documents
Previous: 2025-22918, Notice of Inventory Completion: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Harvard’s Peabody Museum has finished checking its collection and found human remains and artifacts linked to Native American tribes. Starting January 15, 2026, these items can be returned to the tribes that they belong to. This means important cultural treasures will soon be going back home, honoring Native communities and their history.
Next: 2025-22920, Notice of Inventory Completion: Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology, Andover, MA
The Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology in Andover, MA, has finished checking its collection and found human remains and artifacts linked to Native American tribes. Starting January 15, 2026, these items can be returned to the tribes that they belong to. This is a respectful step to honor Native American heritage with no costs or risks involved.