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Repatriation Office
 
Department of Anthropology  
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Detail of Gros Ventre Moccasins (NMNH catalog no. E391185)
Repatriation of Anthropology Collections

Most of the repatriation claims to date have been for the return of human remains, the majority of which were obtained during archaeological excavations.

As of December 2007, we have completed the repatriation of 90,159 funerary objects, 52 sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony and 3,652 human remains. We have also offered the remains of approximately 1,750 additional individuals that await decisions by Native communities on how they wish to proceed. The museum also has a number of pending repatriation requests which we are actively working to address. For more information visit the tables of Completed Repatriations (pdf file) for details. For non-repatriation related collections requests, please visit the website of the Collections Management Division of the Department of Anthropology.

 

Smithsonian Institute - National Mueseum of Natural History