Kern County Museum Sends 20 Baskets Back to Tribes
Published Date: 6/11/2026
Notice
Summary
The Kern County Museum in Bakersfield, CA, plans to return 20 culturally important baskets to Native American tribes, including the Tubatulabal, Kawaiisu, Tejon, and Paiute. This repatriation honors their cultural heritage and will start on or after July 13, 2026. If you want to request these items, you need to contact the museum soon—no money changes hands, just respect and history coming home!
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Museum to Return 20 Tribal Baskets
You are being notified that the Kern County Museum intends to return 20 objects of cultural patrimony (baskets) to affiliated Native American groups. The 20 baskets are listed as: 10 Tubatulabal; 5 Kawaiisu; 2 identified as Tubatulabal/Kawaiisu; 1 Tejon; 1 Paiute; and 1 identified as Made by Lower Kern Indian, and repatriation may occur on or after July 13, 2026.
Who Can Request Repatriation and How
You can request these items if you are a lineal descendant, an Indian Tribe, or a Native Hawaiian organization that shows by a preponderance of the evidence you are a lineal descendant or culturally affiliated. Send additional written requests to Michael McCoy, Kern County Museum, 3801 Chester Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301 or the email provided in the notice; the museum will resolve competing requests and treats joint requests as a single request.
Museum Finds Tejon Tribal Connection
The Kern County Museum determined the 20 baskets meet the definition of objects of cultural patrimony and that there is a connection between the items described in this notice and the Tejon Indian Tribe. That determination is part of the museum's basis for repatriation under NAGPRA.
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