The Repatriation Database Data from Nov. 29, 2023

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Defense Health Agency · 61 subunits · Multiple locations

The Dept. of Defense has the 14th largest collection of unrepatriated Native American remains in the U.S. The institution reported still having the remains of at least 1,900 Native Americans that it has not made available for return to tribes.

The institution has made available for return 72% of the more than 7,000 Native American remains that it reported to the federal government.

remains of 5,101 Native Americans made available for return to tribes

remains of at least 1,950 Native Americans not made available for return

Where Native American remains reported by the Dept. of Defense were taken from

Each county is a peak

Height is the minimum amount of remains taken from county, as reported by institution

Color is reported rate of remains made available for return to tribes

Institution reported no remains taken from these counties

Location of institution

Note: The Dept. of Defense reported remains of at least 12 Native Americans with no location information. 17% of these remains were made available for return to tribes.

Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, when an institution establishes a connection between tribes and remains, it must publish a list of the tribes eligible to make a repatriation claim. The remains are then made available for return to the tribe(s). Once a tribal claim is made, physical transfer may occur. Many remains have been physically returned to tribes, but data on this is spotty because the law does not require institutions to report when these transfers occur.

Timeline of Native American remains made available for return to tribes by the Dept. of Defense

Tribal and institutional capacity, funding, staffing, regulatory changes, audits, Review Committee decisions and litigation may influence timelines. Under NAGPRA, institutions determine whether Native American remains may be returned through cultural affiliation using evidence such as tribal traditional knowledge and biological and archaeological links, or through disposition based on geographic affiliation.

How the Dept. of Defense compares to other institutions

The amount of Native American remains still held by institutions ranges widely.

The Dept. of Defense made Native American remains available for return to 166 tribes.

Institutions often make remains available for return to multiple tribes, so the amount of remains listed below may be counted for more than one tribe.

Tribe	Remains Made Available for Return To
Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei	1,628
Office of Hawaiian Affairs	1,616
O'ahu Island Burial Council	1,596
Native Hawaiian Organizations	1,583
Ka Lahui Hawaii	1,582
Kekumano 'Ohana	1,582
Ko'olauloa Hawaiian Civic Club	1,582
Van Horn Diamond 'Ohana	1,582
Pauma Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pauma and Yuima Reservation, California	565
Pechanga Band of Indians	565
Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians	565
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation, California	561
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation	438
Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota	388
Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska	348
Sac and Fox Nation, Oklahoma	348
Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa	348
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation	302
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon	300
Nez Perce Tribe	286
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation	275
Cherokee Nation	249
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians	249
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma	249
Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico	233
Chickasaw Nation	231
Caddo Nation of Oklahoma	199
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians	174
Comanche Nation, Oklahoma	150
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma	129
Muscogee (Creek) Nation	110
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma	97
Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma	97
Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, Oklahoma	92
Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma	90
Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of the Crow Creek Reservation, South Dakota	90
Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma	90
Shawnee Tribe	90
Northern Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming	87
Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco and Tawakonie), Oklahoma	84
Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraska	78
Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota	78
Wanapum Band	77
Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas	74
Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana	74
Kaw Nation, Oklahoma	63
Omaha Tribe of Nebraska	62
Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma	62
Ponca Tribe of Nebraska	62
Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota	60
Catawba Indian Nation	59
Barrow Inupiat Traditional Government, Native Village of	56
The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma	56
Thlopthlocco Tribal Town	53
Apache Tribe of Oklahoma	49
Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico	47
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota	45
Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana	43
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota	43
Kialegee Tribal Town	43
Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation, South Dakota	43
Oglala Sioux Tribe	43
Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota	43
Spirit Lake Tribe, North Dakota	43
Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana	41
Crow Tribe of Montana	40
Delaware Nation, Oklahoma	40
Delaware Tribe of Indians	40
Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska	40
Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma	40
Kickapoo Tribe of Indians of the Kickapoo Reservation in Kansas	40
Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma	40
Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma	40
Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma	40
Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation	40
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska	40
Miccosukee Tribe of Indians	39
Seminole Tribe of Florida	39
Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota	38
Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota	38
Prairie Island Indian Community in the State of Minnesota	38
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota	38
Upper Sioux Community, Minnesota	38
Poarch Band of Creek Indians	36
Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians of California	33
Santa Rosa Indian Community of the Santa Rosa Rancheria, California	33
Table Mountain Rancheria	33
Tule River Indian Tribe of the Tule River Reservation, California	33
Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians of the Tuolumne Rancheria of California	27
Osage Nation	22
Quapaw Nation	22
La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians, California	18
Pala Band of Mission Indians	18
Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians, California	18
Aloha First	15
Kaiwi Olelo O'Hawaii	15
Nation of Hawaii	15
Pu'uhonua O Waimanalo	15
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community	15
Koa Mana	14
San Pasqual Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of California	14
Timbisha Shoshone Tribe	14
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon	13
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon	13
Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma	12
Big Sandy Rancheria of Western Mono Indians of California	10
Cold Springs Rancheria of Mono Indians of California	10
Northfork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California	10
Chemehuevi Indian Tribe of the Chemehuevi Reservation, California	9
Colorado River Indian Tribes of the Colorado River Indian Reservation, Arizona and California	9
Morongo Band of Mission Indians, California	9
Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation	9
Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe	8
Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma	7
Klamath Tribes	6
Modoc Nation	6
Tinoqui-Chalola Council of Kitanemuk	6
Wukchumni Tribe of Yokut Indians	6
Yowlumne Tejon Indians	6
Hawaii Island Burial Council	5
Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians of Oregon	3
Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians	3
Jena Band of Choctaw Indians	3
Kauai/Niihau Island Burial Council	3
Molokai Island Burial Council	3
Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska	3
Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana	2
Lineal Descendant	2
Lower Elwha Tribal Community	2
Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe	2
Seneca Nation of Indians	2
Seneca-Cayuga Nation	2
Tonawanda Band of Seneca	2
Ak-Chin Indian Community	1
Aleut Corporation	1
Atka, Native Village of	1
Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley	1
Bishop Paiute Tribe	1
Bridgeport Indian Colony	1
Cowlitz Indian Tribe	1
Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation, Nevada	1
Eastern Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming	1
Ely Shoshone Tribe of Nevada	1
Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes of the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation, Nevada and Oregon	1
Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona	1
Hopi Tribe of Arizona	1
Las Vegas Tribe of Paiute Indians of the Las Vegas Indian Colony, Nevada	1
Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Tribe	1
Lovelock Paiute Tribe of the Lovelock Indian Colony, Nevada	1
Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah	1
Northwestern Band of Shoshoni Nation	1
Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah	1
Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon Reservation and Colony, Nevada	1
Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation, California and Arizona	1
Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Nevada	1
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona	1
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation	1
Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, Nevada	1
Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado	1
Susanville Indian Rancheria, California	1
Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada	1
Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona	1
Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah	1
Washoe Tribe of Nevada & California	1
Yomba Shoshone Tribe of the Yomba Reservation, Nevada	1
Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico	1

The Dept. of Defense reported Native American remains from 61 sub-institutions.

Sub-institution	Remains Not Made Available for Return	Remains Made Available for Return	% of Remains Made Available for Return
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, St. Louis District	473	308	39%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Mobile District	228	204	47%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Navy, Marine Corps, Camp Lejeune	214	0	0%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Tulsa District	207	154	43%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Nashville District	150	192	56%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Defense Health Agency, National Museum of Health and Medicine	124	55	31%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Fort Worth District	106	0	0%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Rock Island District	81	0	0%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Little Rock District	74	88	54%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Fort Bliss	56	0	0%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Vicksburg District	51	8	14%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Fort Hunter Liggett	34	0	0%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Omaha District	32	376	92%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Pittsburgh District	20	0	0%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Navy	18	606	97%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Navy, Southwest Naval Facilities Engineering Command	16	0	0%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Galveston District	13	0	0%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Norfolk District	9	0	0%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Baltimore District	7	0	0%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Kansas City District	6	40	87%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Fort Leonard Wood	6	22	79%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Radford Army Ammunition Plant	5	0	0%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, White Sands Missile Range	5	0	0%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Navy, Naval Air Station, Fallon	4	0	0%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Aberdeen Proving Ground	3	0	0%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Walla Walla District	2	282	99%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, St. Paul District	2	35	95%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, AF, Hurlburt Air Field	2	0	0%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Fort Benning	1	25	96%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Los Angeles District	1	0	0%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Navy, Marine Corps, Hawaii	0	1,582	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Albuquerque District	0	280	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Portland District	0	212	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Navy, Coastal Systems Substation	0	171	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Huntington District	0	90	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Fort Hood	0	61	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Charleston District	0	59	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Fort Campbell	0	53	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Presidio of Monterey	0	17	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Navy, Marine Corps, Camp Pendleton	0	17	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Sacramento District	0	16	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, AF, 15th Airlift Wing, Hickam Air Force Base	0	15	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Navy, Whidbey Island Naval Air Station	0	15	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Navy, Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake	0	14	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, AF, Vandenberg Space Force Base	0	13	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Fort Sill	0	13	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Navy, Pacific Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command	0	12	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Redstone Arsenal	0	11	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Navy, Southeast	0	10	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, AF, Edwards Air Force Base	0	9	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Fort Kamehameha	0	9	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army COE, Savannah District	0	6	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Navy, Port Hadlock Detachment	0	6	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Fort Shafter	0	5	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, AF, Patrick Space Force Base	0	3	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Pohakuloa Army Recreation Center	0	2	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, AF, Elmendorf Air Force Base	0	1	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, AF, Luke Air Force Base	0	1	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Fort Polk	0	1	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Fort Stewart	0	1	100%
U.S. Dept. of Defense, Army, Installation Management Agency-Army Reserve Office	0	1	100%

The Dept. of Defense reported making 97% of more than 222,400 associated funerary objects available for return to tribes.

The funerary objects were taken along with Native American remains reported by the institution.

216,641 associated funerary objects made available for return to tribes

at least 5,780 associated funerary objects not made available for return

Search for institutions holding Native American remains and tribes seeking to reclaim them

Try the University of California, Berkeley, the Chickasaw Nation or Arizona.

Institutions that have not submitted information to the federal government are not listed.

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About the Data

This tool presents a dataset maintained by the National Park Service containing all the Native American human remains and associated funerary objects that institutions have reported to the federal government under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The dataset includes information about the state and county where remains and objects were taken from, which institutions hold them and whether they have been made available for return to tribes.

The data is self-reported by institutions. The amount of unrepatriated Native American remains reported by institutions is a minimum estimate of individuals and institutions frequently adjust these numbers when they reinventory groups of remains. Some institutions that are subject to NAGPRA have also entirely failed to report the remains in their possession. As a result, the numbers provided are best taken as estimates. The actual number and geographic scope of what’s held by publicly funded institutions is larger than what is presently documented.

ProPublica supplemented this dataset with information about cultural affiliation and disposition to specific tribes by systematically parsing the text of Notices of Inventory Completion published in the Federal Register. An additional dataset from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Tribal Directory Assessment Tool, was used for the section on remains not made available for return from counties that each tribe has indicated interest in to the federal government.

Institution location and tribal headquarters location information was provided by National NAGPRA. The location of some groups that are not federally recognized was provided through research by ProPublica.

Institutions that are part of a larger entity are grouped. (For example, the Mesa Verde National Park is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.)

Institutions that have not submitted information to the federal government are not listed. The Smithsonian Institution is not listed because its repatriation process falls under the National Museum of the American Indian Act and it is not required to publicly report its holdings with the same detail as institutions subject to NAGPRA.

If you work for an institution and would like to provide comment on your institution’s repatriation efforts, please email [email protected]. If you think the data is incorrect or have a data request, please get in touch. We are aware of some issues with the accuracy of location information and tribes mistakenly being identified for disposition of Native American remains in published notices.

If you want to share something else with ProPublica, we’d like to hear from you.

If you have questions about implementing or complying with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, get in touch with National NAGPRA or the NAGPRA Community of Practice.

We use the word “tribes” to refer to all groups that institutions made Native American remains available to under NAGPRA. This includes tribes, nations, bands, pueblos, communities, Native Alaskan villages, Native Hawaiian organizations and non-federally recognized groups.

Data sources from Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National NAGPRA Program, the Federal Register, Department of Housing and Development, Tribal Directory Assessment Tool

by Ash Ngu and Andrea Suozzo Jan. 11, 2023 Data from Nov. 29, 2023 Additional reporting by Asia Fields, Mary Hudetz and Logan Jaffe for ProPublica and Graham Brewer for NBC News. Additional development by Alec Glassford.