BIA and University Catalog Remains for Native Return
Published Date: 12/19/2025
Notice
Summary
The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs and Northern Arizona University have finished checking and identifying 29 Native American human remains and 30 related items from Navajo lands. These remains and objects can be returned to the affiliated tribes starting January 20, 2026. This important step respects Native cultures and helps bring their ancestors home without any cost to tribes.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Repatriation of 29 Remains to Navajo Nation
You can have 29 identified Native American human remains and 30 associated funerary objects returned to affiliated tribes beginning January 20, 2026. The notice identifies a cultural affiliation with the Navajo Nation (Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah) and states the remains and objects may be returned without any cost to tribes.
Who May Request Repatriation
Authorized requestors may submit repatriation requests to the Bureau of Indian Affairs on or after January 20, 2026. Requests may be made by the identified Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, or by lineal descendants or other tribes/organizations who show by a preponderance of the evidence that they are culturally affiliated; competing requests will be resolved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and joint requests count as a single request.
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