Tennessee Uni Finally Catalogs and Returns Native Human Remains to Tribes
Published Date: 12/19/2025
Notice
Summary
The University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Department has finished checking their collection and found human remains linked to Native American tribes. These remains, found decades ago in Kansas, are ready to be returned to the tribes starting January 20, 2026. If you want to request the return, contact the university soon—this is a respectful step toward honoring Native heritage.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Repatriation may begin Jan 20, 2026
Repatriation of the remains and funerary objects may occur on or after January 20, 2026. Written requests must be sent to Dr. Ellen Lofaro, University of Tennessee, Office of Repatriation, 5723 Middlebrook Pike, Knoxville, TN 37996, or by email at the address listed in the notice.
Who may request repatriation
Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations named in the notice can request repatriation. Also, any lineal descendant or any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not named may request repatriation if they show by a preponderance of the evidence that they are culturally affiliated; joint requests count as a single request.
Tribes identified as culturally affiliated
The University of Tennessee determined the human remains represent six Native American individuals and that the remains and funerary objects are culturally affiliated with the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes (Oklahoma), Kaw Nation (Oklahoma), Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, and Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. Those named tribes are the consulting parties identified in this notice.
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The University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Department has finished checking their collection and found human remains linked to Native American tribes. These remains, from a site in Kansas, can be returned to the tribes starting January 20, 2026. If you want to request repatriation, now’s the time to reach out—no money changes hands, just respect and care for history.