Opportunity
Federal Register #2026-13330
Notice of Repatriation of Native American Human Remains and Cultural Items by Multiple Museums
Buyer
National Park Service
Posted
July 02, 2026
Respond By
August 02, 2026
Identifier
2026-13330
This notice concerns the repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural items under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA): - Government Buyer: - National Park Service, Department of the Interior - Museums Involved: - University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum), Philadelphia, PA - Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK - Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, TX - Products/Items Identified for Repatriation: - Human remains of three individuals (one adult male, two adult females) from a Mohawk cemetery near Manheim, Herkimer County, NY, affiliated with the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe - Three unassociated funerary objects (stone scraper, turtle effigy pipe bowl, chunkey stone) affiliated with The Chickasaw Nation - Five sacred objects (beaded leggings, two peyote rattles, peyote fan, beaded medicine bottle) affiliated with the Comanche Tribe - Notable Requirements: - No products or services are being procured; this is a compliance action for repatriation - Repatriation requests may be submitted by culturally affiliated Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, or lineal descendants - The museums are responsible for determining the most appropriate requestor in the event of competing requests - No associated funerary objects are present with the human remains from the Penn Museum - No OEMs or commercial vendors are involved, as this is not a procurement opportunity
Description
The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum) has completed an inventory of human remains in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The inventory identified human remains representing at least three individuals with a cultural affiliation to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe. The remains were recovered from a Mohawk cemetery near Manheim in Herkimer County, New York, and have been in museum collections since the 19th century. Repatriation of these human remains may occur on or after August 3, 2026.