Nevada's Lost City Museum Repatriates Ancestral Puebloan Remains
Published Date: 8/3/2026
Notice
Summary
The Lost City Museum in Overton, Nevada, has finished checking its collection and found human remains and special objects linked to Native American tribes. Starting September 2, 2026, these remains and items can be returned to the tribes. This update affects tribes connected to the Ancestral Puebloan sites and involves no cost but important cultural respect.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Cultural Affiliation Assigned to Hopi Tribe
The Lost City Museum determined that the remains and associated funerary objects are affiliated with the Virgin Branch Ancestral Puebloan culture (circa 300 B.C.–A.D. 1250) and that there is a connection between these remains and the Hopi Tribe of Arizona. The museum reached this determination after consultation with the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians and the Hopi Tribe of Arizona.
Museum Identifies 20 Native Remains
The Lost City Museum completed an inventory and identified human remains representing at least 20 individuals and eight lots of associated funerary objects (pottery sherds, dog burials, bone dice, turquoise beads, and shell beads). These remains come from multiple Ancestral Puebloan sites near Overton, Nevada, including site numbers such as 26CK2037 and 26CK2036.
How and When Repatriation Requests Work
Repatriation of the remains and objects may occur on or after September 2, 2026. Written requests must be sent to Virginia Lucas at Lost City Museum (721 S Moapa Valley Blvd., Overton, NV 89040 or the museum email listed in the notice), and eligible requestors include any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization identified in the notice or any lineal descendant or tribe/organization that shows cultural affiliation by a preponderance of the evidence. If competing requests arrive, the Lost City Museum must determine the most appropriate requestor; joint repatriation requests are treated as a single request.
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