Kansas City Museum Ships Sacred Items to Tribes
Published Date: 2/23/2026
Notice
Summary
The Museum of Kansas City plans to return five important Native American cultural items to the tribes they belong to, starting March 25, 2026. These items include horns, a pipe bowl and fragment, and a woven yarn bag, all with deep cultural meaning. This repatriation respects Native traditions and strengthens ties between the museum and Native communities, with no costs or hazards involved.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Museum to Return Five Native Items
The Museum of Kansas City intends to repatriate five cultural items—two horns, one pipe bowl, one pipe fragment, and one woven yarn bag—that MKC says are objects of cultural patrimony affiliated with The Osage Nation. The repatriation may occur on or after March 25, 2026, under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
Who Can Request Repatriation
Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization may submit a written request for repatriation to Lisa Shockley at The Museum of Kansas City (3218 Gladstone Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64123; email: [email protected]) by showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, cultural affiliation. If competing requests arrive, MKC must decide the most appropriate requestor; joint requests are treated as a single request. Repatriation may occur on or after March 25, 2026.
No Hazardous Treatments Found
The Museum of Kansas City reports there are no institutional records indicating the presence of potentially hazardous substances used to treat the five cultural items being repatriated. This notice states there are no costs or hazards involved with the items.
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