Alabama University readies Native Human Remains for Tribes
Published Date: 12/17/2025
Notice
Summary
The University of Alabama Museums finished checking their collection and found 213 Native American human remains and lots of related artifacts. These items are linked to specific tribes and can be returned starting January 16, 2026. If you want to request the return, contact the museum soon—this is a big step in respecting Native cultures and history!
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Museum inventory identifies 213 remains
The University of Alabama Museums completed an inventory that identifies human remains representing at least 213 Native American individuals and 1,658 lots of associated funerary objects. The inventory lists site-specific removals (Nodena, Walnut Mound, Higginbotham Farm, Potter's Farm) and catalog prefixes (NOD, WAL, HI, PO) for those items.
Museum links remains to Quapaw Nation
The University of Alabama Museums determined there is a connection between the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Quapaw Nation. That determination is part of the museum's NAGPRA findings documented in this notice.
Repatriation requests allowed starting Jan 16, 2026
Repatriation of the described human remains and funerary objects may occur on or after January 16, 2026. Written requests may be submitted by any of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations identified in the notice, or by a lineal descendant or tribe/organization not identified who shows by a preponderance of the evidence that they have cultural affiliation; competing requests must be resolved by the University of Alabama Museums and joint requests are treated as single requests.
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