Single funerary object joins Alabama bones for tribe repatriation
Published Date: 9/23/2026
Notice
Summary
Auburn University at Montgomery has finished checking and listing Native American human remains and a funerary object found at a historic site in Alabama. These items are linked to local Indian Tribes and can be returned starting October 23, 2026. If you want to request the return, contact the university soon—no money changes hands, just respect and care for these important cultural items.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
One Native American Individual Eligible for Return
Auburn University at Montgomery has identified human remains representing at least one Native American individual and one associated funerary object (a fragment of a deer long bone) from site 1RU9 (Phenix City Dock/possibly Upper Coweta) that may be returned starting October 23, 2026. The items were excavated in 1963, are housed in the AUM Archaeology Laboratory, and Auburn University at Montgomery can be contacted for repatriation requests at Kimberly Pyszka, P.O. Box 244023, Montgomery, AL 36124, email [email protected].
Who May Request Repatriation and How
Repatriation requests may be submitted by any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations named in the notice (including the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas; Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Jena Band of Choctaw Indians; Kialegee Tribal Town; Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; Poarch Band of Creek Indians; Seminole Tribe of Florida; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; and the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town) or by a lineal descendant or other tribe/organization that shows by a preponderance of the evidence that it is affiliated. Requests for joint repatriation are treated as a single request, and if competing requests are received, Auburn University at Montgomery must determine the most appropriate requestor before repatriation may occur on or after October 23, 2026.
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Previous / Next Documents
Previous: 2026-19482, Notice of Inventory Completion: Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, AL
Auburn University at Montgomery has finished checking and listing Native American human remains and artifacts found at a site in Alabama. These items belong to certain Native tribes, and they can be returned starting October 23, 2026. If you want to request the return, contact the university soon—this is a respectful step to honor Native heritage with no cost involved.
Next: 2026-19484, Notice of Inventory Completion: Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, AL
Auburn University at Montgomery has finished checking and listing Native American human remains and burial items found in Alabama. These remains and objects are linked to specific Native tribes and can be returned starting October 23, 2026. If you want to request the return, contact the university soon—no money changes hands, but respect and history do!