UAB to return Cahaba River Native remains—call now!
Published Date: 8/13/2026
Notice
Summary
The University of Alabama at Birmingham has finished checking and listing ancient Native American human remains and their belongings found near the Cahaba River in Alabama. These remains and items, linked to local tribes, can be returned starting September 14, 2026. If you want to request the return, contact UAB’s Anthropology Department soon!
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Repatriation Available Sept 14, 2026
The University of Alabama at Birmingham says seven Native American individuals and 386 associated funerary objects (including 207 lithic flakes, 84 pottery sherds, and nine projectile points) can be returned starting on September 14, 2026. These remains and items were removed from site 1Je49 along the Cahaba River and are available for repatriation to eligible requestors after that date.
Who May Request Repatriation
The notice names five affiliated groups (Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas; Poarch Band of Creek Indians; Seminole Tribe of Florida; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; Thlopthlocco Tribal Town) and says repatriation requests may be submitted by any one or more of those groups. It also allows any lineal descendant or other Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization to request repatriation if they show by a preponderance of the evidence that they are a lineal descendant or culturally affiliated; joint requests count as a single request and competing requests must be resolved by UAB.
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