NAGPRA Repatriation Notice - Peabody Museum, Harvard University

FR: Interior Department

Published April 2nd, 2026

Detected April 2nd, 2026

Summary

The National Park Service published a NAGPRA notice on behalf of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University. The museum intends to repatriate 11 cultural items (8 sacred objects and 3 objects of cultural patrimony) to culturally affiliated Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Repatriation may occur on or after May 4, 2026.

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What changed

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University has determined that 11 cultural items are subject to repatriation under NAGPRA. These include 8 lots of sacred baskets from Inyo County and/or Kern County, California, and 3 objects of cultural patrimony including a soap root brush, ground stone charm/plummet, and tubular ground stone pipe fragments also from Kern County. The items were collected between 1855 and 1928 by various donors including Lewis Hobart Fellow, Grace A. Nicholson, and others.

Repatriation may proceed on or after May 4, 2026 (30 days from publication). Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations believing they have cultural affiliation claims should contact Jane Pickering at the Peabody Museum by that date. The National Park Service is publishing this notice as part of its NAGPRA administrative responsibilities but notes the determinations are the responsibility of the museum.

What to do next

Verify if your Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization has cultural affiliation claims to the listed items (8 sacred basket lots and 3 objects of cultural patrimony from Kern County and/or Inyo County, California)
Submit written objections or claims to Jane Pickering at Harvard's Peabody Museum before the May 4, 2026 repatriation date
Review institutional NAGPRA compliance procedures if your organization holds Native American cultural items

Source document (simplified)

Notice

Notice of Intended Repatriation: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

A Notice by the National Park Service on 04/02/2026

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Public Inspection Published Document: 2026-06349 (91 FR 16735) Document Headings ###### Department of the Interior

National Park Service

[N7038; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042502; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

( printed page 16736)

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University (PMAE) intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, and/or objects of cultural patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES:

Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on or after May 4, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to Jane Pickering, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, email jpickering@fas.harvard.edu.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA. The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the PMAE, 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 11 cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The eight sacred objects are eight lots of baskets from Inyo County and/or Kern County, California with locations identified as Kelsey Canon; Tejon; or Tejon Pass. Collectors and donors include Lewis Hobart Fellow (Donated: 1903-1905; 1907), Grace A. Nicholson (Collection: Unknown date; 1904; 1907), Edward O. Tuttle (Donated: 1905), Charles Presby Wilcomb (Unknown collection date), Eleanor Gardiner (Donated: 1928) and one unknown collector (Collected: 1855).

The three objects of cultural patrimony are one lot of a brush for cleaning baskets (made from soap root), one lot of ground stone, charm stone or plummet, and one lot of ground stone pipe fragments (tubular in shape) from Kern County, California. Collectors and donors include Lewis Hobart Fellow (Donated: January 1905), Grace A. Nicholson (Unknown collection date), Brown University (Donated: December 1923), John Whipple Potter “J.W.P.” Jenks (Unknown collection date), and Jules Marcou (Collected: 1875; Donated: December 1885)

Determinations

The PMAE has determined that:

The eight sacred objects described in this notice are specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional Native American religion, according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization.
The three objects of cultural patrimony described in this notice have ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the Native American group, including any constituent sub-group (such as a band, clan, lineage, ceremonial society, or other subdivision), according to the Native American traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
There is a connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Tejon Indian Tribe.

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 4, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the PMAE 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 PMAE is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations 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: March 24, 2026.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.

[FR Doc. 2026-06349 Filed 4-1-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4312-52-P

Published Document: 2026-06349 (91 FR 16735)