Phoenix Museum Completes Inventory for Tribal Repatriation
Published Date: 3/27/2026
Notice
Summary
The S'edav Va'aki Museum in Phoenix has finished checking its collections and found human remains and funeral items linked to Native American tribes. Starting April 27, 2026, these remains and items can be returned to the right tribes. This helps honor Native cultures and clears the way for respectful repatriation without any cost to the public.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Museum Identifies Ancestral Remains
If you are a member of the Ak-Chin Indian Community, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, or the Tohono O'odham Nation, the S'edav Va'aki Museum has identified human remains representing at least six individuals and two associated funerary objects as culturally affiliated with those groups. Those remains and objects may be repatriated on or after April 27, 2026.
Who Can Request Repatriation
You can request repatriation by sending a written request to Lindsey Vogel-Teeter at S'edav Va'aki Museum, 4619 East Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034 (email as listed in the notice). Requests may be submitted by any one or more of the Indian Tribes named in this notice, or by a lineal descendant or Indian Tribe/Native Hawaiian organization not named if they show by a preponderance of the evidence that they are a lineal descendant or culturally affiliated. Repatriation may occur on or after April 27, 2026; if competing requests are received, the museum must determine the most appropriate requestor, and joint requests are treated as a single request.
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