Penn Museum Ready to Repatriate Native Female Remains
Published Date: 6/22/2026
Notice
Summary
The University of Pennsylvania Museum has finished checking its collection and found Native American human remains linked to certain tribes. These remains, including an adult female’s skull, can be returned to the tribes starting July 22, 2026. If you want to request the return, contact the museum soon—this is a big step in respecting Native heritage!
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Remains Linked to Two Tribes
If you are affiliated with the Mashantucket Pequot Indian Tribe or the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut, the Penn Museum determined that human remains representing one individual (an adult female, represented by a cranium and mandible) are culturally affiliated with those tribes. The remains were removed prior to 1835 from Fort Hill in East Haven, Connecticut and later entered collections (transferred to Samuel G. Morton by 1839, purchased by ANSP in 1853, loaned to Penn Museum in 1966, and gifted in 1997).
Repatriation Eligible After July 22
You may request repatriation of the human remains on or after July 22, 2026. Written requests must be sent to Dr. Christopher Woods, Williams Director, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6324; email: [email protected]); eligible requestors include the tribes named in this notice or a lineal descendant or tribe/organization that shows by a preponderance of the evidence a cultural affiliation.
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