Harvard to Fund Travel Expenses for Tribal Repatriations

Harvard will fund Native American tribe representatives’ travel to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology for the repatriation of ancestral remains and funerary belongings, the University announced this month.

Jane Pickering, the director of the Peabody Museum, said the funding will allow the Peabody to speed up the return of Native American human remains, which is required under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

“By making this funding available, we’re hoping to enable repatriations to happen sooner, because we — including the tribes — all share the goal of returning ancestors,” Pickering told the Harvard Gazette, a University-run publication.

A 2022 report from a University committee revealed that Harvard holds the ancestral remains of thousands of Native Americans. The University has since pledged to accelerate repatriation of these remains, but some Native American advocates have said the process has been too slow.

In a statement to the Gazette, Anthropology professor and the Harvard University Native American Program Faculty Director Joseph P. Gone ’92 defended Harvard against the criticism that it has dragged its heels on repatriation.

“Some people have the mistaken impression that folks at Harvard are trying, by hook or by crook, to undermine this repatriation process. It’s not true,” said Gone, who also serves on the Peabody’s Faculty Executive Committee. “No one at Harvard wants to hold on to these materials. Everyone wants to see these ancestors go back home where they belong.”

On its website, the Peabody wrote that “these funds will lessen the burden” of obstacles standing in the way of tribal leaders coming to Harvard to help the repatriation process. The funds will cover round-trip transportations costs, hotel costs, and meals costs for up to three nights.

“From my conversations with tribal representatives, removing the hurdle of finding travel funding makes a big difference,” Kelli Mosteller, executive director of HUNAP, told the Gazette.

—Staff writer Annabel M. Yu can be reached at annabel.yu@thecrimson.com.