Birmingham Museum Lists Human Remains for Tribal Return
Published Date: 9/9/2026
Notice
Summary
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA) has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Museum Confirms Native American Ancestry
The Birmingham Museum of Art completed an inventory and identified human remains representing at least three individuals as Native American. The museum determined a cultural affiliation between those remains and the listed Indian Tribes (including the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Alabama Coushatta Tribe of Texas; Poarch Band of Creek Indians; The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; and others named) and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
Who Can Request Repatriation and How
Repatriation requests can be submitted in writing by any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations named in this notice, or by a lineal descendant or other Tribe/organization that shows by a preponderance of the evidence they are affiliated. Send written requests to Dr. Anne Forschler-Tarrasch at the Birmingham Museum of Art; repatriation may occur on or after October 9, 2026, and the museum will decide among competing requests (joint requests count as a single request).
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