University Lists Remains and Items Eligible for Return
Published Date: 11/12/2026
Notice
Summary
Auburn University at Montgomery has finished checking and listing Native American human remains and 99 related items found in Alabama. These remains belong to one Native American individual and are linked to local tribes. Starting December 14, 2026, these remains and objects can be returned to the tribes, with no costs mentioned.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Remains and Objects Available for Repatriation
If you are an eligible tribe or descendant, the human remains of at least one Native American individual and 99 associated funerary objects (47 lithics, 48 faunal bone, and 4 metal) identified by Auburn University at Montgomery may be returned to requestors on or after December 14, 2026. Auburn University at Montgomery completed the inventory under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
Tribes Identified as Culturally Affiliated
Auburn University at Montgomery determined a cultural affiliation between the remains/objects and the following groups: Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas; Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town; Cherokee Nation; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Jena Band of Choctaw Indians; Kialegee Tribal Town; Poarch Band of Creek Indians; The Chickasaw Nation; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma. These listed groups are identified as eligible parties for repatriation requests.
Who May Request and How Competing Claims Are Resolved
You may request repatriation by sending a written request to Auburn University at Montgomery if you are one or more of the listed tribes, or if you are a lineal descendant or tribe not listed who shows by a preponderance of the evidence that you are culturally affiliated. Repatriation may occur on or after December 14, 2026; if competing requests are received, Auburn University at Montgomery must determine the most appropriate requestor, and joint repatriation requests count as a single request.
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