Ohio History Connection works with tribes to return ancestral remains

January 22, 2025

The Ohio History Connection is collaborating with 45 tribes to repatriate over 7,000 Native American remains and funerary objects. The remains, some dating back centuries, were removed from Ohio’s tribes and stored at the museum. This repatriation effort follows updates to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which mandates the return of such items. Tribal leaders emphasize the urgency, with Chief Glenna Wallace of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe stressing the need to “unite those human remains with Mother Earth.”

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