2026-06344Notice

Harvard and Rockwell Museums to Repatriate Ancient Grave Finds

Published Date: 4/2/2026

Notice

Summary

The Peabody Museum at Harvard and The Rockwell Museum have finished checking their collections and found Native American human remains and special burial items linked to local tribes. These items, taken from a grave in New York over 100 years ago, are ready to be returned starting May 4, 2026. Tribal groups can now request the return of these important cultural treasures.

Analyzed Economic Effects

3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.

Oneida Nations Identified for Repatriation

The Peabody Museum and The Rockwell Museum determined the human remains (at least one individual) and three associated funerary objects (a ceramic effigy pipe, a hammerstone, and a projectile point) are culturally affiliated with the Oneida Indian Nation and the Oneida Nation. These items may be repatriated to those Nations on or after May 4, 2026.

Other Descendants or Tribes May Request Return

Any other lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization not named may request repatriation if they show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that they are lineal descendants or culturally affiliated. Written requests must be sent to the authorized representatives identified by the museums.

How Museums Will Resolve Competing Claims

If competing repatriation requests are received, the Peabody Museum and The Rockwell Museum must determine the most appropriate requestor before repatriation. Requests submitted jointly are treated as a single request and not competing requests.

Your PRIA Score

Score Hidden

Personalized for You

How does this regulation affect your finances?

Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this federal register document and every other regulation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to start

Key Dates

Published Date
Effective Date
4/2/2026
5/4/2026

Department and Agencies

Department
Independent Agency
Agency
Interior Department
National Park Service
Source: View HTML

Related Federal Register Documents

Previous / Next Documents

Back to Federal Register

Take It Personal

Get Your Personalized Policy View

Start a Free Government Policy Watch to see how policy affects your household, then upgrade to PRIA Full Coverage for year-round monitoring.

Already have an account? Sign in