Washington
Institutions reported making 91% of the more than 2,300 Native American remains taken from Washington available for return to tribes under NAGPRA.
There are 25 institutions located in Washington that reported Native American remains taken from across the country.
Institution | Remains Not Made Available for Return | Remains Made Available for Return | % of Remains Made Available for Return |
---|---|---|---|
Central Washington University | 80 | 255 | 76% |
Western Washington University | 63 | 4 | 6% |
U.S. Department of Defense | 2 | 303 | 99% |
Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office | 1 | 0 | 0% |
Saint Martin's University Waynick Museum | 1 | 8 | 89% |
Whitman College, Maxey Museum | 1 | 60 | 98% |
Chelan County Public Utilities District | 0 | 2 | 100% |
Douglas County Public Utility District | 0 | 5 | 100% |
Eastern Washington University | 0 | 103 | 100% |
Karshner Museum | 0 | 10 | 100% |
Kitsap County Coroner's Office | 0 | 2 | 100% |
Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture | 0 | 64 | 100% |
Pacific Lutheran University | 0 | 4 | 100% |
Pierce College | 0 | 31 | 100% |
Renton History Museum | 0 | 1 | 100% |
U.S. Department of Agriculture | 0 | 3 | 100% |
U.S. Department of Energy | 0 | 5 | 100% |
U.S. Department of Homeland Security | 0 | 1 | 100% |
U.S. Department of the Interior | 0 | 208 | 100% |
University of Puget Sound, Puget Sound Museum of Natural History | 0 | 27 | 100% |
University of Washington | 0 | 284 | 100% |
Washington State Dept of Natural Resources | 0 | 2 | 100% |
Washington State Historical Society | 0 | 13 | 100% |
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission | 0 | 24 | 100% |
Washington State University | 0 | 83 | 100% |
There are 52 institutions that reported Native American remains taken from Washington.
Institution | Remains Not Made Available for Return | Remains Made Available for Return | % of Remains Made Available for Return |
---|---|---|---|
Central Washington University | 78 | 234 | 75% |
Western Washington University | 45 | 4 | 8% |
American Museum of Natural History | 44 | 590 | 93% |
Portland State University | 23 | 0 | 0% |
Harvard University | 12 | 3 | 20% |
University of California, Berkeley | 4 | 35 | 90% |
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology | 4 | 2 | 33% |
Oregon State University | 3 | 7 | 70% |
U.S. Department of Defense | 2 | 329 | 99% |
Wisconsin Historical Society | 2 | 0 | 0% |
Field Museum | 1 | 0 | 0% |
Hastings Museum | 1 | 0 | 0% |
University of Arizona, Arizona State Museum | 1 | 2 | 67% |
University of Iowa, Office of the State Archaeologist | 1 | 1 | 50% |
University of the Pacific | 1 | 0 | 0% |
Alaska State Museum | 0 | 2 | 100% |
Central Washington Univ. + Univ. of Washington, Burke Museum (joint notice) | 0 | 2 | 100% |
Chelan County Public Utilities District | 0 | 2 | 100% |
Chemung Valley Historical Society | 0 | 1 | 100% |
Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Museum | 0 | 1 | 100% |
Douglas County Public Utility District | 0 | 5 | 100% |
Eastern Washington University | 0 | 102 | 100% |
Indiana University | 0 | 5 | 100% |
Karshner Museum | 0 | 4 | 100% |
Kitsap County Coroner's Office | 0 | 2 | 100% |
Los Angeles County Natural History Museum | 0 | 1 | 100% |
Milwaukee Public Museum | 0 | 2 | 100% |
Minnesota Indian Affairs Council | 0 | 1 | 100% |
Museum of Natural History and Planetarium | 0 | 1 | 100% |
New York University, College of Dentistry | 0 | 1 | 100% |
Northwest Christian College, Kellenberger Library | 0 | 2 | 100% |
Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture | 0 | 64 | 100% |
Pacific Lutheran University | 0 | 1 | 100% |
Pierce College | 0 | 31 | 100% |
Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology | 0 | 1 | 100% |
Renton History Museum | 0 | 1 | 100% |
Saint Martin's University Waynick Museum | 0 | 8 | 100% |
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History | 0 | 3 | 100% |
U.S. Department of Agriculture | 0 | 3 | 100% |
U.S. Department of Energy | 0 | 5 | 100% |
U.S. Department of the Interior | 0 | 229 | 100% |
University of Idaho, Alfred W. Bowers Laboratory of Anthropology | 0 | 25 | 100% |
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Department of Anthropology | 0 | 1 | 100% |
University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History | 0 | 1 | 100% |
University of Puget Sound, Puget Sound Museum of Natural History | 0 | 17 | 100% |
University of Washington | 0 | 238 | 100% |
Washington State Dept of Natural Resources | 0 | 2 | 100% |
Washington State Historical Society | 0 | 9 | 100% |
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission | 0 | 24 | 100% |
Washington State University | 0 | 78 | 100% |
Whitman College, Maxey Museum | 0 | 50 | 100% |
Yale University, Peabody Museum of Natural History | 0 | 3 | 100% |
Institutions made Native American remains taken from Washington available for return to 59 tribes.
Tribe | Remains Made Available for Return to Tribe |
---|---|
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation | 937 |
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation | 874 |
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation | 747 |
Nez Perce Tribe | 693 |
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon | 691 |
Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe | 468 |
Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe | 461 |
Lower Elwha Tribal Community | 459 |
Wanapum Band | 268 |
Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation | 221 |
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community | 171 |
Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians of Washington | 146 |
Tulalip Tribes of Washington | 144 |
Puyallup Tribe of the Puyallup Reservation | 138 |
Samish Indian Nation | 123 |
Muckleshoot Indian Tribe | 102 |
Suquamish Indian Tribe of the Port Madison Reservation, Washington | 100 |
Nisqually Indian Tribe | 95 |
Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation | 91 |
Upper Skagit Indian Tribe | 84 |
Snoqualmie Indian Tribe | 78 |
Spokane Tribe of the Spokane Reservation | 78 |
Cowlitz Indian Tribe | 61 |
Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe of the Shoalwater Bay Indian Reservation | 57 |
Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe | 54 |
Skokomish Indian Tribe | 54 |
Nooksack Indian Tribe | 52 |
Kalispel Indian Community of the Kalispel Reservation | 51 |
Coeur D'Alene Tribe | 50 |
Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah Indian Reservation | 50 |
Squaxin Island Tribe of the Squaxin Island Reservation | 47 |
Quinault Indian Nation | 45 |
Hoh Indian Tribe | 43 |
Quileute Tribe of the Quileute Reservation | 43 |
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon | 23 |
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon | 20 |
Clatsop-Nehalem Confederated Tribes | 17 |
Snoqualmoo Tribe | 17 |
Chinook Tribe | 2 |
Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley | 1 |
Bishop Paiute Tribe | 1 |
Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation, Nevada | 1 |
Duwamish Tribe | 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 |
Kikiallus Nation | 1 |
Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Tribe | 1 |
Marietta Band of Nooksack Indians | 1 |
Northwestern Band of Shoshoni Nation | 1 |
Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon Reservation and Colony, Nevada | 1 |
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation | 1 |
Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, Nevada | 1 |
Snohomish Tribe | 1 |
Steilacoom Indian Tribe | 1 |
Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada | 1 |
Timbisha Shoshone Tribe | 1 |
Winnemucca Indian Colony of Nevada | 1 |
Yomba Shoshone Tribe of the Yomba Reservation, Nevada | 1 |
Institutions reported Native American remains taken from 36 counties in Washington.
County | Remains Taken From County Not Made Available for Return | Remains Made Available for Return | % of Remains Made Available for Return |
---|---|---|---|
Whatcom County | 43 | 15 | 26% |
Kittitas County | 23 | 31 | 57% |
Clark County | 20 | 18 | 47% |
Island County | 16 | 48 | 75% |
Snohomish County | 16 | 3 | 16% |
San Juan County | 10 | 157 | 94% |
Clallam County | 9 | 405 | 98% |
Cowlitz County | 5 | 0 | 0% |
Asotin County | 4 | 34 | 89% |
Skagit County | 4 | 26 | 87% |
Yakima County | 4 | 18 | 82% |
Columbia County | 3 | 2 | 40% |
King County | 3 | 37 | 93% |
Benton County | 2 | 123 | 98% |
Grays Harbor County | 2 | 19 | 90% |
Kitsap County | 2 | 18 | 90% |
Klickitat County | 2 | 416 | 100% |
Chelan County | 0 | 12 | 100% |
Douglas County | 0 | 2 | 100% |
Ferry County | 0 | 157 | 100% |
Franklin County | 0 | 190 | 100% |
Garfield County | 0 | 6 | 100% |
Grant County | 0 | 69 | 100% |
Jefferson County | 0 | 13 | 100% |
Lincoln County | 0 | 10 | 100% |
Mason County | 0 | 7 | 100% |
Okanogan County | 0 | 21 | 100% |
Pacific County | 0 | 15 | 100% |
Pend Oreille County | 0 | 2 | 100% |
Pierce County | 0 | 48 | 100% |
Skamania County | 0 | 13 | 100% |
Spokane County | 0 | 8 | 100% |
Stevens County | 0 | 28 | 100% |
Thurston County | 0 | 1 | 100% |
Walla Walla County | 0 | 37 | 100% |
Whitman County | 0 | 12 | 100% |
Know how an institution is handling repatriation? Have a personal story to share? We'd like to hear from you.
Watch an informational webinar with our reporters.
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