Yale Peabody Museum Repatriates Eight Unassociated Funerary Objects to Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes

Notice

Notice of Intended Repatriation: Yale Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven, CT

A Notice by the National Park Service on 04/23/2026

• PDF

• Document Details

• Document Dates

• Table of Contents

- Related Documents

• Public Comments
• Regulations.gov Data

- Sharing

• Print
• Other Formats
• Public Inspection Published Document: 2026-07957 (91 FR 21835) Document Headings ###### Department of the Interior

National Park Service

1. [N7107; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042667; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Yale Peabody Museum, Yale University, intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes in this notice.

DATES:

Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on or after May 26, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to Professor Erika Edwards, Interim Director, Yale Peabody Museum, P.O. Box 208118, New Haven, CT 06520-8118, email erika.edwards@yale.edu.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This notice is published as part of the ( printed page 21836) National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA. The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the Yale Peabody Museum, and additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the summary or related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

A total of eight cultural items have been requested for repatriation.

A total of one unassociated funerary object is one lot of commingled items that are quartz and soapstone fragments, unmodified faunal remains, and a clay pipe stem. The cultural items were removed from the Tubbs Site in Niantic, Connecticut, during a Yale University archaeological field school at an adjacent site in 1946, with the permission of landowner Chapin Hubbell. Yale faculty and curators donated the collection to the Peabody Museum on March 24, 1946.

A total of four unassociated funerary objects are one lot of ceramic vessel fragments, one lot of clay pipe fragments, one lot of stone items, and one lot of faunal remains that were removed from the Tubbs Site between 1932 and 1934 by Edward H. Rogers. Rogers donated the items to the Peabody Museum on December 1, 1960.

A total of three unassociated funerary objects are one lot of ceramic vessel fragments, one lot of clay pipe fragments, and one lot of commingled and assorted items were also removed by Rogers from the Tubbs Site. Rogers removed the collections between 1932 and 1935 and donated the items to the Peabody Museum on January 15, 1970.

Determinations

The Yale Peabody Museum has determined that:

• The eight unassociated funerary objects described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near human remains, and are connected, either at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony of a Native American culture according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. The unassociated funerary objects have been identified by a preponderance of the evidence as related to human remains, specific individuals, or families, or removed from a specific burial site or burial area of an individual or individuals with cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
• There is a reasonable connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Mashantucket Pequot Indian Tribe and the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut.

Requests for Repatriation

Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this notice under ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be submitted by any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice who shows, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a lineal descendant or a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.

Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after May 26, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Yale Peabody Museum must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the cultural items are considered a single request and not competing requests. The Yale Peabody Museum is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes identified in this notice and to any other consulting parties.

Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.

Dated: April 17, 2026,

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.

[FR Doc. 2026-07957 Filed 4-22-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4312-52-P

Published Document: 2026-07957 (91 FR 21835)