Harvard Returns Century-Old Native Hawaiian Teen Hair Clippings to Tribes
Published Date: 12/18/2025
Notice
Summary
Harvard’s Peabody Museum has finished checking its collection and found 14 Native Hawaiian human remains, mostly hair clippings from teens collected about 100 years ago. These remains are now officially linked to Native Hawaiian groups and can be returned starting January 20, 2026. If you want to request repatriation, you can contact the museum directly—no money changes hands, just respect and care for these important cultural items.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Repatriation of 14 Hawaiian Remains
The Peabody Museum identified human remains representing 14 Native American individuals from the Hawaiian Islands, primarily hair clippings collected between 1916 and 1920. The museum determined these remains are culturally affiliated with the Hui Iwi Kuamo[revaps]o and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and repatriation may occur on or after January 20, 2026.
Who Can Request Repatriation
Requests for repatriation may be made by any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice. Other requestors—any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization not identified—may also request repatriation if they show by a preponderance of the evidence that they are a lineal descendant or culturally affiliated; the museum must resolve competing requests before repatriation.
How to Submit Repatriation Requests
Written requests for repatriation must be sent to Jane Pickering at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, or by the provided museum email address. Repatriation of the human remains may occur on or after January 20, 2026.
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