Sen. Schatz presses Harvard on delays returning Native ancestors
Hawaii senator seeks answers on Harvard's NAGPRA compliance and thousands of Native ancestors still held by the Peabody Museum
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, is pressing Harvard University to explain delays in returning Native ancestors and cultural items under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, according to reporting from The Harvard Crimson. In a June 8 letter to Harvard President Alan M. Garber, Schatz requested updates on the university's compliance efforts, including how many ancestors and cultural items have been returned and how many remain in its collections.
Schatz, vice chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, gave Harvard 30 days to respond and asked whether the university met its pledge to complete the disposition of ancestors and associated funerary belongings by 2025. According to the Harvard Crimson’s reporting, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology had repatriated 5,464 ancestors and more than 20,000 funerary belongings as of Dec. 31, 2025. Still, 4,643 ancestors remained in the museum's possession, either in active consultation with tribes or awaiting consultation. "Indigenous people have waited long enough," Schatz said in a press release. "It's time for these museums and universities to stop the delays and finally do the right thing."
- 1.Shalini N. Ramchune. Sen. Schatz Presses Harvard Over Delayed Return of Native Ancestors. The Harvard Crimson.
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