The Yale Peabody Museum announced it will return the remains of an Indigenous ancestor to a tribe in Maine.
The university posted a notice through the National Park Service for a national database registry. The inventory was registered per the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which Congress passed in 1990. Institutions can return Native American remains or related funeral objects in a process known as repatriation.
The museum said it had identified the human remains and eight funerary objects connected to "at least" one ancestor from the Wabanaki Nations. The ancestral connection can be linked to the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Mi'kmaq Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe, or the Penobscot Nation.
According to the notice, two spearheads, one plummet, and one lot of red ochre are thought to have been removed from cemeteries in addition to the ancestor. The museum said they were donated in 1926 and 1969 after they were removed from shell mounds in Maine.
According to the report, the museum determined that the funeral items were placed in the area as part of a death rite or ceremony. However, the remains were taken from a shell mound between 1948 and 1952 and later donated to the museum in 1969.
Steven Scarpa, a spokesperson for the museum, said in a statement, according to Hearst Connecticut Media, that the museum is committed to working with Native American Tribes to fulfill our NAGPRA responsibilities.
"In doing so, we defer to a confidential process that respects Tribal privacy. We are dedicated to realizing our goals regarding consultation and repatriation through meaningful relationships with our Tribal partners," Scarpa said.
The museum is one of several institutions across the United States working to return Native American remains or funeral objects. The remains of roughly 200,000 Native Americans across the country have yet to be returned. In Connecticut, 200 Native American cases have been made available for return to tribes, according to NAGPRA records.
"Since 1990, the museum has consulted with multiple tribes from across the country that may be culturally affiliated with its collections," Scarpa said. "Those ongoing consultations are confidential to respect the privacy of the communities involved."
