Notice of Intended Repatriation Published in the Federal Register

A Notice of Intended Repatriation of Cultural Items has been published in the Federal Register.  

To request repatriation on the above notice, we have provided template request for repatriation/claim letters below for your convenience. Please contact the Megon Noble, Repatriation Coodinator ([email protected]) if you have any questions.

Template Repatriation/Claim Letter

The Notice includes the following:

A total of five cultural items or lots have been requested for repatriation. The objects of cultural patrimony are three baskets, one lot of 13 pieces of dentalium shell money, and one chert flake tool. The University is unaware of any specific treatment of the individual objects of cultural patrimony with pesticides, preservatives, or other substances that represent a potential hazard to the objects or to persons handling the objects. However, records located in the Department of Anthropology Museum indicate that approximately 1/3 of the Merriam collection had been treated with Berlou, a dry mothproofing substance used as an insecticide, in 1964. It is unknown which baskets were treated.

Two of the objects of cultural patrimony, CHM 705 and 706, were purchased in Bucksport in Humboldt Bay, California on September 13, 1910. These two baskets were most likely made by Mrs. Jerry James (Wiyot). CHM 1501 includes 13 pieces of dentalium shell money pieces purchased on September 14, 1910, from a Humboldt Bay Soo-lah'-te-luk (Wiyot) woman who was also possibly Mrs. Jerry James. CHM 707 is a mortar basket that Merriam purchased in October 1921 in Humboldt Bay from an unknown Soo-lah'-te-luk (Wiyot) woman. UCDA-1106 is a chert flake tool, from the UC Davis Department of Anthropology teaching collection with very little provenience other than it was surface collected by Dr. Robert Bettinger in the 1960s to 70s in Fortuna, in Humboldt County, CA-HUM-15.