LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky is one of the largest holders of Native American remains and artifacts that have not been made available for return to tribes, a report from ProPublica published this week showed.
The William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology, located at UK, holds more than 4,500 Native American remains. Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, federal agencies and institutions are required to return Native American remains and cultural items to tribes. The law was passed in 1990 by Congress, but most remains located at museums and universities across the country still have not been returned.
UK holds the sixth highest amount of Native American remains that have not yet been made available for return to tribes, according to ProPublica. Other institutions that also hold high numbers of unreturned remains include the University of California, Berkeley, the Illinois State Museum and Harvard University. Regionally, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley Authority also hold high numbers of unreturned remains and items.
