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 three cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The three objects of cultural patrimony are baskets and a basket fragment. 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.

The objects of cultural patrimony include CHM 71, which Merriam purchased in San Francisco, but documented its source as the Hoopa Valley in Trinity County. Merriam identified CHM 72 and CHM 1268 from Trinity River at the junction of South Fork and specifically as Tsnungwe. The Blue Lake Rancheria is a Tribe that includes enrolled descendants from Athapaskan and Hupa tribal communities, a shared descendancy and identity with the Tsnungwe Tribe.