Kansas Returns Massacre Doll Head to Tribes
Published Date: 10/8/2026
Notice
Summary
The Kansas State Historical Society plans to return 18 cultural items linked to Native American tribes, including tools and a doll head from the Sand Creek Massacre site. This repatriation will start on or after November 9, 2026, giving tribes a chance to reclaim these important artifacts. No money changes hands, but this is a big step in respecting Native heritage and history.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Return of 18 Sand Creek artifacts
The Kansas State Historical Society intends to repatriate 18 unassociated funerary objects that were found at the Sand Creek Massacre site (including items such as a metal projectile point, an iron hatchet head, and a wooden doll head). These items are scheduled for repatriation on or after November 9, 2026, and are identified in the notice as related to that event.
Tribes identified as culturally affiliated
The Kansas State Historical Society determined the 18 objects have cultural affiliation with the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes (Oklahoma), the Northern Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation (Wyoming), and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation (Montana). That determination supports repatriation of the items to those tribal governments beginning on or after November 9, 2026.
How to request repatriation
Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization not named in the notice may submit a written request showing by a preponderance of the evidence that they are culturally affiliated. Requests must be sent to Dr. Nicole Klarmann, Kansas State Historical Society, 6425 SW 6th Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615-1099, or by email to [email protected]; repatriation may occur on or after November 9, 2026, and the KSHS will resolve competing requests and treat joint requests as a single request.
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