Kansas Society Readies Missouri Remains for Tribal Return
Published Date: 5/19/2026
Notice
Summary
The Kansas State Historical Society has finished checking and listing Native American human remains and related items from Missouri. These remains and objects are linked to certain Indian Tribes, and they can be returned starting June 18, 2026. If you want to request repatriation, now’s the time to reach out—no money changes hands, just respect and care.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Repatriation Opens June 18, 2026
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice may occur on or after June 18, 2026. Requests must be sent in writing to Dr. Nicole Klarmann at the Kansas State Historical Society, 6425 SW 6th Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615-1099, or by email to [email protected].
KSHS Finds Five Individuals, 14 Objects
The Kansas State Historical Society determined the remains represent at least five Native American individuals and 14 associated funerary objects recovered from unknown counties in Missouri. The objects include a chert flake, a pottery sherd, bone/shell beads, and a non-human bone fragment, and some remains came from a gravesite on the bluffs of the Missouri River near St. Louis in the late 1800s or early 1900s.
Who May Request Repatriation
Repatriation requests may be submitted by any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization identified in the notice, or by any lineal descendant or tribe/organization not identified who shows by a preponderance of the evidence a cultural affiliation. If competing requests are received, the Kansas State Historical Society must determine the most appropriate requestor before repatriation; joint requests count as a single request.
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