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The Repatriation Database Data from Nov. 29, 2023

Apache Tribe of Oklahoma

A federally recognized Indian tribe with headquarters in Oklahoma

Institutions reported making the remains of more than 1,000 Native Americans available for return to the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma.

The tribe was also eligible to claim more than 12,600 associated funerary objects.

Institutions continue to hold the remains of at least 16,100 Native Americans taken from counties known to be of interest to the tribe.*

Where Native American remains made available for return to the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma were taken from

Each county is a peak
Height is amount of remains taken from county and made available by institutions for return to tribe
No remains taken from these counties made available for return to tribe
Institution that made remains available for return
Swipe interaction icon
Note: Remains of four Native Americans with no location information were made available for return to the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma.
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.

These 24 institutions made Native American remains available for return to the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma.

InstitutionRemains Made Available for Return To Tribe
History Nebraska586
U.S. Department of the Interior111
University of Wyoming54
U.S. Department of Defense49
University of Colorado Museum48
University of Denver, Museum of Anthropology33
University of Iowa, Office of the State Archaeologist21
Denver Museum of Nature and Science20
Pittsburg State University19
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery14
Colorado College11
Southern Methodist University10
Chadron State College8
Baylor University, Mayborn Museum Complex4
University of Texas at Austin, Texas Archeological Research Laboratory4
Colorado Bureau of Investigation3
Michigan State University3
Harvard University2
History Colorado2
Pejepscot Historical Society2
S'edav Va'aki Museum2
Texas A and M University2
Texas Parks and Wildlife1
U.S. Department of Justice1

Timeline of Native American remains made available for return to the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma

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.

These institutions have not made available for return the remains of at least 16,100 Native Americans that were taken from counties known to be of interest to the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma.

These are estimates calculated using remains not made available for return from counties that the tribe has previously been eligible to claim remains from, as well as counties that the tribe has indicated interest in to the federal government. They are not comprehensive figures. The tribe may not wish to claim the remains, and other tribes may also seek to claim them.
InstitutionRemains Not Made Available for Return That Were Taken From Counties of Interest to the Tribe
Univ. of Oklahoma2,211
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (2,192)
Oklahoma Archeological Survey (19)
Univ. of Missouri, Columbia2,204
Univ. of Texas at Austin1,874
Dept. of the Interior1,446
BIA (906)
New Mexico State Office (105)
Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery (100)
Buffalo National River (82)
Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge (66)
Amistad NRA (60)
Navajo NM (46)
Wyoming State Office (17)
Jean Lafitte NHP and PRES (16)
Mingo National Wildlife Refuge (16)
Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge (15)
Ozark National Scenic Riverways (4)
Reclamation, Great Plains Region, Wyoming Area Office (3)
Voyageurs NP (3)
White River National Wildlife Refuge (2)
Anasazi Heritage Center (1)
Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge (1)
D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge (1)
Reclamation, Great Plains Region, Montana Area Office (1)
Reclamation, Great Plains Region, Nebraska-Kansas Area Office (1)
Univ. of Arizona1,356
Harvard Univ.974
Museum of New Mexico, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture737
Dept. of Defense644
Tulsa District (207)
Fort Worth District (106)
Rock Island District (81)
Little Rock District (74)
Fort Bliss (52)
Vicksburg District (51)
Omaha District (31)
National Museum of Health and Medicine (16)
Galveston District (13)
Fort Leonard Wood (6)
Kansas City District (4)
White Sands Missile Range (2)
St. Louis District (1)
American Museum of Natural History619
Dept. of Agriculture549
Santa Fe NF (258)
Tonto NF (85)
Gila NF (80)
Lincoln NF (45)
Prescott NF (34)
Carson NF (15)
Mark Twain NF (14)
Cibola NF (8)
Coconino NF (6)
Rio Grande NF (2)
Coronado NF (1)
Dakota Prairie Grasslands (1)
Museum of Texas Tech Univ.335
Univ. of Texas at San Antonio289
West Texas A and M Univ.277
Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources201
Missouri Dept. of Transportation194
Field Museum157
Yale Univ.112
Univ. of Louisiana at Monroe106
Univ. of Alabama98
Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville86
Minnesota Indian Affairs Council79
Univ. of Michigan75
Texas State Univ.66
Southeast Missouri State Univ.59
Univ. of New Mexico59
Louisiana State Univ.58
Museum of Natural Science (53)
Dept. of Anthropology (5)
Trinidad State Junior College48
Univ. of Iowa46
Beloit College45
South Dakota State Historical Society, State Archaeological Research Center44
Univ. of Arkansas41
Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History39
Univ. of Minnesota, Duluth39
Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology36
Univ. of Nebraska State Museum36
Carlsbad Museum35
New Mexico Highlands Univ.35
Univ. of Wyoming35
Univ. of the Incarnate Word32
Fort Lewis College30
Sul Ross State Univ.30
Western Colorado Univ.29
Witte Museum29
Univ. of Kansas28
Houston Museum of Natural Science23
New York State Museum23
Louisiana Dept. of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism21
Gilcrease Museum20
Missouri State Univ.20
Poverty Point World Heritage Site17
Texas Parks and Wildlife17
Texas A and M Univ.16
Dept. of Anthropology (11)
Commerce (5)
Univ. of Central Missouri16
Univ. of Missouri, St. Louis16
Eastern Arizona College Foundation15
Hastings Museum15
Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale15
Univ. of Texas, El Paso15
History Nebraska13
Univ. of Pennsylvania13
Kansas State Historical Society12
No Man's Land Historical Society12
Ohio History Connection12
Wisconsin Historical Society12
Illinois State Museum10
Los Angeles County Natural History Museum10
Montana State Univ., Museum of the Rockies10
Texas Historical Commission10
Milwaukee Public Museum9
Museum of Northern Arizona9
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency9
Univ. of California, Berkeley9
Brigham Young Univ.8
Coryell County Sheriff's Dept.8
Missouri Historical Society8
New Mexico State Univ. Museum8
Texas Dept. of Transportation8
Tioga Point Museum8
Dartmouth College7
Nassau County Dept. of Parks and Recreation7
Montana State Univ., Bozeman6
Natural History Museum of Utah6
Univ. of North Texas6
Univ. of Texas Permian Basin6
Washington Univ.6
Wichita State Univ.6
Goodhue County Historical Society5
San Bernardino County Museum5
Sul Ross State Univ.5
Carnegie Museum of Natural History4
Fort Concho NHL4
Montana Historical Society4
Buffalo Bill Center of the West3
Cleveland Museum of Natural History3
Kansas City Museum3
Kansas State Univ.3
Rochester Museum and Science Center3
St. Joseph Museums, Inc.3
Univ. of Memphis3
Univ. of Montana3
Artesia Historical Museum and Art Center2
Bowers Museum2
Grand Rapids Public Museum2
Heard Museum2
Indiana Univ.2
Minnesota Historical Society2
Rocky Ford Historical Museum2
Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer2
The Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country2
Univ. of Kentucky2
Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill2
Bridgewater College1
Cass County Historical Society Museum1
City of Fort Smith1
Denver Museum of Nature and Science1
Elgin Public Museum1
Florida State Univ.1
Fort Worth Museum Science and History1
Grayson County Frontier Village Museum1
Grout Museum of History and Science1
Hutchinson County Historical Museum1
Louisiana Cultural Heritage Museum1
Louisiana State Exhibit Museum1
Meeteetse Museum1
Mutter Museum, College of Physicians of Philadelphia1
New York Univ.1
Northwestern State Univ. of Louisiana1
Putnam Museum1
Rutgers Univ.1
Saint Martin's Univ. Waynick Museum1
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History1
Univ. of California, Riverside1
Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign1
Univ. of Tulsa1
Univ. of Vermont1
Utah Dept. of Natural Resources1
Western New Mexico Univ. Museum1
Wichita County Sherriff's Office1
Counties of interest used in estimate include: Arkansas, Ashley, Baxter, Benton, Boone, Bradley, Calhoun, Carroll, Chicot, Clark, Clay, Cleburne, Cleveland, Columbia, Conway, Craighead, Crawford, Crittenden, Cross, Dallas, Desha, Drew, Faulkner, Franklin, Fulton, Garland, Grant, Greene, Hempstead, Hot Spring, Howard, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Lafayette, Lawrence, Lee, Lincoln, Little River, Logan, Lonoke, Madison, Marion, Miller, Mississippi, Monroe, Montgomery, Nevada, Newton, Ouachita, Perry, Phillips, Pike, Poinsett, Polk, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, Scott, Searcy, Sebastian, Sevier, Sharp, St. Francis, Stone, Union, Van Buren, Washington, White, Woodruff and Yell in Arkansas. Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Pima and Yavapai in Arizona. Kings in California. Adams, Alamosa, Arapahoe, Archuleta, Baca, Bent, Boulder, Broomfield, Chaffee, Cheyenne, Clear Creek, Conejos, Costilla, Crowley, Custer, Delta, Denver, Dolores, Douglas, Eagle, El Paso, Elbert, Fremont, Garfield, Gilpin, Grand, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Huerfano, Jackson, Jefferson, Kiowa, Kit Carson, La Plata, Lake, Larimer, Las Animas, Lincoln, Logan, Mesa, Mineral, Moffat, Montezuma, Montrose, Morgan, Otero, Ouray, Park, Phillips, Pitkin, Prowers, Pueblo, Rio Blanco, Rio Grande, Routt, Saguache, San Juan, San Miguel, Sedgwick, Summit, Teller, Washington, Weld and Yuma in Colorado. Adair, Adams, Allamakee, Appanoose, Audubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cedar, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Clarke, Clay, Clayton, Clinton, Crawford, Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Delaware, Des Moines, Dickinson, Dubuque, Emmet, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Fremont, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Henry, Howard, Humboldt, Ida, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Kossuth, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Lucas, Lyon, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Mills, Mitchell, Monona, Monroe, Montgomery, Muscatine, O'brien, Osceola, Page, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Polk, Pottawattamie, Poweshiek, Ringgold, Sac, Scott, Shelby, Sioux, Story, Tama, Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury, Worth and Wright in Iowa. Clark, Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray, Hamilton, Haskell, Kearny, Meade, Morton, Seward, Stanton and Stevens in Kansas. Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Cameron, Catahoula, Claiborne, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Iberia, Iberville, Jackson, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Lasalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Orleans, Ouachita, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John The Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Terrebonne, Union, Vermilion, Vernon, Washington, Webster, West Baton Rouge, West Carroll, West Feliciana and Winn in Louisiana. Aitkin, Anoka, Becker, Beltrami, Benton, Big Stone, Blue Earth, Brown, Carlton, Carver, Cass, Chippewa, Chisago, Clay, Clearwater, Cook, Cottonwood, Crow Wing, Dakota, Dodge, Douglas, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Grant, Hennepin, Houston, Hubbard, Isanti, Itasca, Jackson, Kanabec, Kandiyohi, Kittson, Koochiching, Lac Qui Parle, Lake, Lake Of The Woods, Le Sueur, Lincoln, Lyon, Mahnomen, Marshall, Martin, Mcleod, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Mower, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Norman, Olmsted, Otter Tail, Pennington, Pine, Pipestone, Polk, Pope, Ramsey, Red Lake, Redwood, Renville, Rice, Rock, Roseau, Scott, Sherburne, Sibley, St. Louis, Stearns, Steele, Stevens, Swift, Todd, Traverse, Wabasha, Wadena, Waseca, Washington, Watonwan, Wilkin, Winona, Wright and Yellow Medicine in Minnesota. Adair, Andrew, Atchison, Audrain, Barry, Barton, Bates, Benton, Bollinger, Boone, Buchanan, Butler, Caldwell, Callaway, Camden, Cape Girardeau, Carroll, Carter, Cass, Cedar, Chariton, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Cole, Cooper, Crawford, Dade, Dallas, Daviess, Dekalb, Dent, Douglas, Dunklin, Franklin, Gasconade, Gentry, Greene, Grundy, Harrison, Henry, Hickory, Holt, Howard, Howell, Iron, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Laclede, Lafayette, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Madison, Maries, Marion, Mcdonald, Mercer, Miller, Mississippi, Moniteau, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, New Madrid, Newton, Nodaway, Oregon, Osage, Ozark, Pemiscot, Perry, Pettis, Phelps, Pike, Platte, Polk, Pulaski, Putnam, Ralls, Randolph, Ray, Reynolds, Ripley, Saline, Schuyler, Scotland, Scott, Shannon, Shelby, St. Charles, St. Clair, St. Francois, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Stoddard, Stone, Sullivan, Taney, Texas, Vernon, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Worth and Wright in Missouri. Beaverhead, Big Horn, Blaine, Broadwater, Carbon, Carter, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Deer Lodge, Fallon, Fergus, Flathead, Gallatin, Garfield, Glacier, Golden Valley, Granite, Hill, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lake, Lewis And Clark, Liberty, Lincoln, Madison, Mccone, Meagher, Mineral, Missoula, Musselshell, Park, Petroleum, Phillips, Pondera, Powder River, Powell, Prairie, Ravalli, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sanders, Sheridan, Silver Bow, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Teton, Toole, Treasure, Valley, Wheatland, Wibaux and Yellowstone in Montana. Adams, Antelope, Arthur, Banner, Blaine, Boone, Box Butte, Boyd, Brown, Buffalo, Burt, Butler, Cass, Cedar, Chase, Cherry, Cheyenne, Clay, Colfax, Cuming, Custer, Dakota, Dawes, Dawson, Deuel, Dixon, Dodge, Douglas, Dundy, Fillmore, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Gage, Garden, Garfield, Gosper, Grant, Greeley, Hall, Hamilton, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock, Holt, Hooker, Howard, Jefferson, Johnson, Kearney, Keith, Keya Paha, Kimball, Knox, Lancaster, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, Madison, Mcpherson, Merrick, Morrill, Nance, Nemaha, Nuckolls, Otoe, Pawnee, Perkins, Phelps, Pierce, Platte, Polk, Red Willow, Richardson, Rock, Saline, Sarpy, Saunders, Scotts Bluff, Seward, Sheridan, Sherman, Sioux, Stanton, Thayer, Thomas, Thurston, Valley, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler and York in Nebraska. Adair, Alfalfa, Atoka, Beaver, Beckham, Blaine, Bryan, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Cherokee, Choctaw, Cimarron, Cleveland, Coal, Comanche, Cotton, Craig, Creek, Custer, Delaware, Dewey, Ellis, Garfield, Garvin, Grady, Grant, Greer, Harmon, Harper, Haskell, Hughes, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnston, Kay, Kingfisher, Kiowa, Latimer, Le Flore, Lincoln, Logan, Love, Major, Marshall, Mayes, Mcclain, Mccurtain, Mcintosh, Murray, Muskogee, Noble, Nowata, Okfuskee, Oklahoma, Okmulgee, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Payne, Pittsburg, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Pushmataha, Roger Mills, Rogers, Seminole, Sequoyah, Stephens, Texas, Tillman, Tulsa, Wagoner, Washington, Washita, Woods and Woodward in Oklahoma. Anderson, Andrews, Angelina, Aransas, Archer, Armstrong, Atascosa, Austin, Bailey, Bandera, Bastrop, Baylor, Bee, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Borden, Bosque, Bowie, Brazoria, Brazos, Brewster, Briscoe, Brooks, Brown, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Calhoun, Callahan, Cameron, Camp, Carson, Cass, Castro, Chambers, Cherokee, Childress, Clay, Cochran, Coke, Coleman, Collin, Collingsworth, Colorado, Comal, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Cottle, Crane, Crockett, Crosby, Culberson, Dallam, Dallas, Dawson, Deaf Smith, Delta, Denton, Dewitt, Dickens, Dimmit, Donley, Duval, Eastland, Ector, Edwards, El Paso, Ellis, Erath, Falls, Fannin, Fayette, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Fort Bend, Franklin, Freestone, Frio, Gaines, Galveston, Garza, Gillespie, Glasscock, Goliad, Gonzales, Gray, Grayson, Gregg, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hale, Hall, Hamilton, Hansford, Hardeman, Hardin, Harris, Harrison, Hartley, Haskell, Hays, Hemphill, Henderson, Hidalgo, Hill, Hockley, Hood, Hopkins, Houston, Howard, Hudspeth, Hunt, Hutchinson, Irion, Jack, Jackson, Jasper, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Johnson, Jones, Karnes, Kaufman, Kendall, Kenedy, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Kinney, Kleberg, Knox, La Salle, Lamar, Lamb, Lampasas, Lavaca, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Limestone, Lipscomb, Live Oak, Llano, Loving, Lubbock, Lynn, Madison, Marion, Martin, Mason, Matagorda, Maverick, Mcculloch, Mclennan, Mcmullen, Medina, Menard, Midland, Milam, Mills, Mitchell, Montague, Montgomery, Moore, Morris, Motley, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Newton, Nolan, Nueces, Ochiltree, Oldham, Orange, Palo Pinto, Panola, Parker, Parmer, Pecos, Polk, Potter, Presidio, Rains, Randall, Reagan, Real, Red River, Reeves, Refugio, Roberts, Robertson, Rockwall, Runnels, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, San Patricio, San Saba, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Shelby, Sherman, Smith, Somervell, Starr, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Swisher, Tarrant, Taylor, Terrell, Terry, Throckmorton, Titus, Tom Green, Travis, Trinity, Tyler, Upshur, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Van Zandt, Victoria, Walker, Waller, Ward, Washington, Webb, Wharton, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Willacy, Williamson, Wilson, Winkler, Wise, Wood, Yoakum, Young, Zapata and Zavala in Texas. Albany, Big Horn, Campbell, Carbon, Converse, Crook, Fremont, Goshen, Hot Springs, Johnson, Laramie, Lincoln, Natrona, Niobrara, Park, Platte, Sheridan, Sublette, Sweetwater, Teton, Uinta, Washakie and Weston in Wyoming
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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