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The Repatriation Database Data from Jan. 6, 2025

Wisconsin

Institutions reported making 40% of the more than 3,300 Native American remains taken from Wisconsin available for return to tribes under NAGPRA.

remains of 1,335 Native Americans made available for return to tribes
remains of at least 2,003 Native Americans not made available for return

There are 18 institutions located in Wisconsin that reported Native American remains taken from across the country.

InstitutionRemains Not Made Available for ReturnRemains Made Available for Return% of Remains Made Available for Return
Milwaukee Public Museum1,5571167%
Wisconsin Historical Society22780478%
Beloit College, Logan Museum of Anthropology14722460%
University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh1305530%
Oshkosh Public Museum7456%
Lawrence University, Department of Anthropology6200%
Neville Public Museum555349%
University of Wisconsin, La Crosse4900%
U.S. Department of the Interior900%
University of Wisconsin, Madison, Department of Anthropology716696%
Kenosha Public Museum600%
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Department of Anthropology38597%
Washington County Historical Society200%
John Michael Kohler Arts Center02100%
Outagamie County Historical Society03100%
Rhinelander High School01100%
Sheboygan County Historical Museum06100%
University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point02100%

There are 34 institutions that reported Native American remains taken from Wisconsin.

InstitutionRemains Not Made Available for ReturnRemains Made Available for Return% of Remains Made Available for Return
Milwaukee Public Museum1,46691%
Wisconsin Historical Society16879983%
University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh1305530%
Oshkosh Public Museum5623%
University of Wisconsin, La Crosse4900%
Harvard University4600%
Neville Public Museum275266%
Lawrence University, Department of Anthropology2200%
U.S. Department of the Interior122668%
Kenosha Public Museum500%
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology5655%
Northwestern Univ., Dept. of Anthropology300%
U.S. Department of Defense300%
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Department of Anthropology36195%
Washington County Historical Society200%
Dayton Museum of Natural History100%
Illinois State Museum100%
Mutter Museum, College of Physicians of Philadelphia100%
University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology100%
University of Tennessee, Knoxville100%
University of Wisconsin, Madison, Department of Anthropology116699%
Beloit College, Logan Museum of Anthropology0106100%
Berkshire Museum01100%
Field Museum021100%
Grand Rapids Public Museum05100%
John Michael Kohler Arts Center02100%
Outagamie County Historical Society03100%
Rhinelander High School01100%
S'edav Va'aki Museum01100%
Science Museum of Minnesota04100%
Sheboygan County Historical Museum06100%
University of Colorado Museum01100%
University of Iowa, Office of the State Archaeologist06100%
University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point02100%
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.

Institutions made Native American remains taken from Wisconsin available for return to 75 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.
TribeRemains Made Available for Return to Tribe
Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin902
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska707
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin491
Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation, Wisconsin472
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin472
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation of Wisconsin471
Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin469
Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Michigan457
St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin456
Leech Lake Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota453
Mille Lacs Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota453
Sokaogon Chippewa Community, Wisconsin453
White Earth Band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota453
Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan444
Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan444
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan442
Bois Forte Band (Nett Lake) of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota440
Fond du Lac Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota440
Grand Portage Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota440
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan436
Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma436
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota436
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigan434
Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana432
Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, Minnesota432
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota432
Forest County Potawatomi Community, Wisconsin376
Hannahville Indian Community, Michigan352
Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, Michigan (formerly the Huron Potawatomi, Inc.)340
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana340
Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan337
Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma331
Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation331
Prairie Island Indian Community in the State of Minnesota297
Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota293
Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota293
Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraska293
Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota293
Spirit Lake Tribe, North Dakota293
Upper Sioux Community, Minnesota293
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota286
Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana285
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota285
Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of the Crow Creek Reservation, South Dakota285
Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation, South Dakota285
Oglala Sioux Tribe285
Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota285
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota285
Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota285
Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska247
Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska243
Sac and Fox Nation, Oklahoma243
Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa242
Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma240
Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma213
Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana196
Miami Tribe of Oklahoma196
Stockbridge Munsee Community, Wisconsin132
Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation, California and Arizona116
Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas76
Kickapoo Tribe of Indians of the Kickapoo Reservation in Kansas76
Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma76
Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Michigan62
Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan62
Cayuga Nation59
Oneida Indian Nation in New York59
Onondaga Nation59
Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe59
Seneca Nation of Indians59
Tonawanda Band of Seneca59
Tuscarora Nation59
Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma48
Osage Nation45
Oneida Nation of Wisconsin34
Seneca-Cayuga Nation33

Institutions reported Native American remains taken from 60 counties in Wisconsin.

CountyRemains Taken From County Not Made Available for ReturnRemains Made Available for Return% of Remains Made Available for Return
Burnett County47500%
Winnebago County32211626%
Marquette County20510%
Jefferson County1353922%
La Crosse County10019266%
Dodge County73810%
Grant County734438%
Oconto County7000%
Barron County6923%
Door County573538%
Sheboygan County511219%
Milwaukee County49713%
Trempealeau County465956%
Waukesha County411324%
Dane County3917482%
Crawford County343551%
Menominee County242551%
Green Lake County21622%
Fond du Lac County202151%
Ozaukee County2015%
Brown County126184%
Washington County6114%
Wood County6225%
Kenosha County5862%
Racine County4233%
Shawano County31077%
Vernon County3240%
Manitowoc County2880%
Oneida County28398%
Walworth County2250%
Adams County1150%
Ashland County1583%
Calumet County1788%
Columbia County1686%
Forest County1150%
Kewaunee County1150%
Outagamie County11694%
Rock County11694%
Vilas County1480%
Buffalo County02100%
Dunn County024100%
Green County01100%
Iowa County01100%
Jackson County01100%
Juneau County02100%
Langlade County07100%
Lincoln County02100%
Marathon County05100%
Marinette County05100%
Monroe County03100%
Pierce County020100%
Polk County010100%
Portage County013100%
Richland County0145100%
Rusk County06100%
Sauk County05100%
Sawyer County03100%
Taylor County01100%
Waupaca County07100%
Waushara County011100%
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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