San Bernardino Museum Plans Return of Sacred Native Artifacts
Published Date: 4/23/2026
Notice
Summary
The San Bernardino County Museum plans to return 14 important cultural items to Native American tribes starting May 26, 2026. These items include beads, pottery pieces, stone tools, and bones that hold special cultural meaning. This respectful move honors Native heritage and involves no cost to the public, just a meaningful step toward preserving history the right way.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
14 Items Scheduled for Repatriation
The San Bernardino County Museum plans to return 14 cultural items (including shell beads, ceramic discs and sherds, spindle whorl, lithics/stone tools, ground stone, and faunal bone) that it identified as objects of cultural patrimony. The museum says repatriation of these items may occur on or after May 26, 2026.
Museum Finds Items Linked to Morongo Band
San Bernardino County Museum determined the 14 objects have ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance and identified a cultural affiliation with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, California. The notice records that the items meet the definition of 'objects of cultural patrimony' under NAGPRA.
Who Can Request Repatriation and Process
Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization may submit a written request for repatriation if they show by a preponderance of the evidence that they are a lineal descendant or culturally affiliated. If competing requests are received the museum will decide the most appropriate requestor before repatriation, and joint requests are treated as a single request.
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