Tens of thousands of sacred objects, artifacts, funerary objects, and human remains are being processed by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to comply with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
have been able to tour the museum’s extensive Native American collection, which includes thousands of sacred artifacts from Tribal Nations across the country, as well as funerary objects and human remains.
The exhibit is being dismantled and much of it is now inaccessible to the public as part of the museum’s compliance with a federal law mandating the repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural items held by federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funding. The federal law is designed to protect Native American gravesites and human remains from desecration and give Tribal Nations a method by which to reclaim ancestral property, including human remains. The PHMC, as the agency charged with preserving and interpreting Pennsylvania history, receives federal funds and must comply with the law. “The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is fully committed to this process,” said Andrea Bakewell Lowery, the commission’s executive director. “Since the new NAGPRA regulations went into effect, we have repatriated dozens of remains and artifacts and are actively coordinating with federally recognized Tribes and Nations to continue this important work. This engagement represents a commitment not just to legal compliance, but to ethical stewardship and fostering respectful relationships.” The Native American exhibit at the State Museum has been temporarily closed since early May to allow museum staff to identify objects subject to the federal law and to follow the law’s protocol on returning the items. “The closure will allow PHMC to thoroughly review, document, and work in close collaboration with Native American communities to determine appropriate dispositions for these sensitive materials, honoring the rights and wishes of Native peoples,” Bakewell Lowery said. The law was enacted in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush and was significantly updated in 2024. The revisions expedite and streamline the repatriation process, requiring institutions to offer human remains and funerary objects for repatriation within a five-year period. Other cultural and academic institutions in Pennsylvania that have objects or remains in their collections listed in the database maintained by the U.S. National Park Service include Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pennsylvania Western University, North Museum of Nature and Science and Tioga Point Museum. Despite its historic significance, the law has been beset by major challenges, including implementation and enforcement. Many Tribal Nations say that the original legislation does not go far enough to address past wrongdoings, nor does it take into account the challenges of the repatriation process both in terms of legal and ethical considerations, according to the National Congress of American Indians. “We never ceded or relinquished our dead. They were stolen,” James Riding In, a retired Arizona State University professor who is Pawnee, has said of the unreturned remains. There are 574 federally recognized tribes and approximately 400 additional tribes that are not federally recognized. Bakewell Lowery described the items in the collection as “deeply sacred and integral to cultural and spiritual practices — to their lineal descendants” and culturally affiliated Native communities. “Crucially, they also strengthen Tribal authority by requiring consent from direct descendants or Tribes before exhibiting or researching remains and cultural items,” she said. Much of the second-floor exhibit at the State Museum is sealed off by a tall barrier. Neither members of the public or the media are permitted to take photos of materials behind the barrier. The appropriation of Native American sacred objects, artifacts, remains and funerary objects accelerated throughout the 1800s as the United States expanded westward. The federal government, along with museums and cultural institutions, encouraged the looting of Indigenous items and remains.The investigative journalism outlet found that 10 institutions held about half of the Native American remains that had not been returned to tribes. These included prestigious museums, state-run institutions and at least two federal agencies. ProPublica found that the American Museum of Natural History had not returned some human remains taken from the Southwest. Musuem officials argued that the remains were too old to determine the appropriate tribes for repatriation.A myriad of obstacles have contributed to the glacial pace of the repatriation process and the lack of compliance and enforcement, according to the center. The National Park Service notes on its website that Congress recognized that human remains of any ancestry “must at all times be treated with dignity and respect.” Congress also acknowledged that human remains and other cultural items removed from federal or tribal lands belong, in the first instance, to lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations.former Hopi Tribal Council Vice Chairman Clark Tenakhongva said a few years ago. “”We’re still suffering the consequences of the first contact of non-natives to America, and the history endures today. This is only to mend the wounds they created here and do so with the best processes we can in putting remains back where they belong.”The removal of NAGPRA-related materials is expected to take several months. Bakewell Lowery said officials do not expect the exhibit to reopen before the museum closes for renovations in August 2026 for three years. “The history of Native Americans is a critical part of Pennsylvania history, and PHMC is committed to developing the new exhibit in consultation with the Nations,” she said.Will a catastrophic flood hit central Pa? It’s only a matter of time, experts say If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our
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