More Native Remains Cleared for August Return
Published Date: 7/8/2026
Notice
Summary
The Arizona State Museum at the University of Arizona has finished checking its collection of Native American human remains and related items. They found some remains linked to local tribes and are ready to return them starting August 7, 2026. This means tribes can now ask for these important cultural items back, with no cost involved.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Repatriation Available Starting August 7, 2026
Tribes or lineal descendants may request return of human remains and funerary objects beginning August 7, 2026. The Arizona State Museum says the collections include remains from 84 individuals and 130 associated funerary objects, and requests for repatriation may be submitted as described in the notice (the summary states there is no cost involved).
Museum Identifies Affiliated Tribes
The Arizona State Museum determined a reasonable cultural affiliation between the remains/objects and the Ak-Chin Indian Community; Gila River Indian Community; Hopi Tribe; Salt River Pima‑Maricopa Indian Community; Tohono O'odham Nation; and the Zuni Tribe. Those named tribes are identified as having a connection to the items described in this notice.
Who Can Request and How Claims Are Resolved
Repatriation requests may be filed by any one or more of the tribes named in the notice, or by any lineal descendant or other tribe/organization that shows by a preponderance of the evidence that they are a lineal descendant or culturally affiliated. If competing requests are received, the Arizona State Museum must determine the most appropriate requestor; joint repatriation requests are treated as a single request.
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