Museum Returns Ancestral Remains: Tribes Can Reclaim by April!
Published Date: 3/27/2026
Notice
Summary
The Huntington Museum of Art has finished checking its collection and found human remains and special objects linked to Native American tribes. Starting April 27, 2026, these items can be returned to the tribes that they belong to. If you want to request the return, contact the museum soon to make it happen!
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Five Ancestors and 117 Objects Returnable
The Huntington Museum of Art has identified human remains representing at least five Native American individuals and 117 associated funerary objects. These remains and objects may be returned to affiliated Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations listed in the notice on or after April 27, 2026.
Who Can Request Repatriation
Written repatriation requests may be submitted to Liz Simmons, Executive Director, Huntington Museum of Art, 2033 McCoy Road, Huntington, WV 25701 or via the notice email addresses. Requests may be made by any one or more of the named Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, or by a lineal descendant or tribe not named that shows cultural affiliation by a preponderance of the evidence.
Potential Contamination and Grenade Residue
The museum notes that some objects may have been treated with glues, polyvinyl acetate, and enamels, and that one undamaged Hanes Excelsior Civil War grenade was originally stored with an individual and moved to isolation because it may be a source of residue contamination. The HMoA reports no other known hazardous substances in its records.
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