Reclamation Bureau Sets Deadline for Navajo Reservoir Items
Published Date: 7/15/2026
Notice
Summary
The Bureau of Reclamation in Salt Lake City plans to return Native American human remains and pottery found near Navajo Reservoir, Colorado, to the rightful tribes or descendants starting August 14, 2026. If no one claims them by July 15, 2027, these items will be considered unclaimed. This action respects Native American heritage and follows important federal laws protecting these sacred items.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Priority repatriation to listed Tribes
The Bureau of Reclamation intends to return human remains (at least one individual) and one lot of ceramics found near Navajo Reservoir (site 5AA.1270, Archuleta County, CO; discovered 2026) to lineal descendants or the Indian Tribes listed in this notice. The notice names the tribes with priority for disposition, including the Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Jicarilla Apache Nation; Navajo Nation; Ohkay Owingeh; Pueblo of Acoma; Pueblo of Cochiti; Pueblo of Isleta; Pueblo of Jemez; Pueblo of Laguna; Pueblo of Nambe; Pueblo of Picuris; Pueblo of Pojoaque; Pueblo of San Felipe; Pueblo of San Ildefonso; Pueblo of Sandia; Pueblo of Santa Ana; Pueblo of Santa Clara; Pueblo of Taos; Pueblo of Tesuque; Pueblo of Zia; Santo Domingo Pueblo; Southern Ute Indian Tribe; Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation; Ute Mountain Ute Tribe; Ysleta del Sur Pueblo; and the Zuni Tribe.
How and when to file a claim
Claims for disposition must be submitted in writing to Zachary Nelson, Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Basin Region, 125 South State Street, Room 8100, Salt Lake City, UT 84138, or by email to the address listed in the notice, and may be made by any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization identified in (or able to show priority for) this notice. Disposition may occur on or after August 14, 2026, and written claims must be received by July 15, 2027 to avoid the items being declared unclaimed.
Unclaimed status if no claim filed
If no claim for disposition is received by July 15, 2027, the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice will become unclaimed human remains and associated funerary objects. In the event of competing claims, the Bureau of Reclamation will determine the most appropriate claimant prior to disposition; joint claims are treated as a single claim.
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