Hood Museum to repatriate sacred objects

The Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College published a Federal Register notice on May 19 saying it intends to repatriate two cultural items under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA. The notice says the objects meet the definition of sacred objects and have a known lineal descendant. It lists the museum in Hanover, New Hampshire, as the repository and says repatriation may occur on or after June 18, 2026. ### Which objects are covered by the notice? The Federal Register notice says the two objects are an ulu and a cutting board. The museum said both were requested for repatriation and identified them as sacred objects under NAGPRA. GovInfo’s version of the notice says the ulu and cutting board were made in Shishmaref, Alaska, by Kivetoruk James Moses, who was Inupiaq, for his wife, Bessie Aden Ahgupuk Moses. (govinfo.gov) It says author and naturalist Sally Carrighar bought the objects from Kivetoruk J. Moses in the 1950s while doing Arctic research, and donated both pieces to Dartmouth in 1966. ### Why does the notice refer to a lineal descendant? The notice says MaryJane Litchard “is connected to the cultural items described in this notice.” It also says the museum determined the two objects are “specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional Native American religion,” citing the traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. (govinfo.gov) Under 25 U.S.C. 3005, museums must expeditiously return sacred objects when the legal standard is met and the request comes from a qualifying claimant, including a direct lineal descendant in specified circumstances. The statute also says the return is to be carried out in consultation with the requesting descendant, tribe, or organization on the place and manner of delivery. (govinfo.gov) ### What role does the National Park Service play here? The National Park Service notice says publication is part of the agency’s administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA. The same notice says the determinations are “the sole responsibility of the Hood Museum of Art” and that the National Park Service is not responsible for those determinations. (uscode.house.gov) The National Park Service’s NAGPRA notices database says museums and federal agencies must submit a Federal Register notice before disposition or repatriation of covered cultural items. The database distinguishes a notice of intended repatriation from notices used for inventories of human remains and associated funerary objects. (govinfo.gov) ### How does this fit into Dartmouth’s broader repatriation work? The Hood Museum says NAGPRA provides the legal framework for federally recognized tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations to seek the return of ancestral human remains and certain cultural items from federally funded museums and agencies. The museum says it sent written summaries of cultural items to more than 500 federally recognized tribes in 1993 and completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects in 1995. (apps.cr.nps.gov) The museum also says it hired Jami Powell in 2018 as its first associate curator of Native American art and that Powell serves as Dartmouth’s NAGPRA officer. It says the museum hired Emily Andrews in 2022 as its first full-time staff member dedicated to NAGPRA work. ### What happens next? (hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu) The May 19 notice says additional written requests for repatriation can be sent to Jami C. Powell, associate director of curatorial affairs and curator of Indigenous art at the Hood Museum, at 6 East Wheelock Street in Hanover or by email. It says requests may be submitted by any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in the notice if they can show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that they are entitled to claim the items. (hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu) June 18, 2026, is the earliest date the two objects may be repatriated, according to the Federal Register notice. The filing appears in the May 19, 2026 edition of the Federal Register under document number 2026-10030. (govinfo.gov)