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The Repatriation Database Data from Jan. 6, 2025

Osage Nation

A federally recognized Indian tribe with headquarters in Oklahoma

Institutions reported making the remains of more than 3,600 Native Americans available for return to the Osage Nation.

The tribe was also eligible to claim more than 96,100 associated funerary objects.

Institutions continue to hold the remains of at least 28,300 Native Americans taken from counties known to be of interest to the tribe.*

Where Native American remains made available for return to the Osage Nation 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 12 Native Americans with no location information were made available for return to the Osage Nation.
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 60 institutions made Native American remains available for return to the Osage Nation.

InstitutionRemains Made Available for Return To Tribe
Illinois State Museum1,346
University of Missouri, Columbia, Museum of Anthropology497
Mississippi Dept. of Archives and History495
University of Arkansas221
University of Iowa, Office of the State Archaeologist155
Indiana University133
University of Kansas103
Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites Corporation, State of Indiana99
Cincinnati Museum Center, Museum of Natural History and Science72
Harvard University50
Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology, Phillips Academy49
Marshall University38
Missouri Department of Natural Resources35
U.S. Department of Defense33
Kansas State University32
U.S. Department of Agriculture31
University of Tulsa, Department of Anthropology30
U.S. Department of the Interior26
University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh21
Beloit College, Logan Museum of Anthropology19
Pittsburg State University19
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Department of Anthropology18
Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department16
St. Joseph Museums, Inc.15
Arkansas State University Museum12
Culver-Stockton College10
Gilcrease Museum9
Metropolitan State University of Denver, Department of Sociology and Anthropology8
Coe College7
University of Nebraska State Museum5
Denver Museum of Nature and Science4
Colorado Bureau of Investigation3
Madison County Coroner's Office3
Mercyhurst Univ.3
New York University, College of Dentistry3
Northern Illinois Univ.3
Oregon State University3
Pioneer Museum, Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park3
San Bernardino County Museum3
Shiloh Museum of Ozark History3
University of Tennessee, Knoxville3
Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Office2
Grand Rapids Public Museum2
Hastings Museum2
Museum of Natural History and Planetarium2
St. Louis County Office of the Medical Examiner2
Appalachian State University, Department of Anthropology1
Central Methodist University1
Colgate University, Longyear Museum of Anthropology1
History Museum on the Square1
Kansas State Historical Society1
Perry County Coroner's Office1
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History1
St. Louis Science Center1
Stoddard County Sheriff's Office1
University of Denver, Museum of Anthropology1
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology1
University of South Florida1
Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site1
Yale University, Peabody Museum of Natural History1

Timeline of Native American remains made available for return to the Osage Nation

Tribal and institutional capacity, funding, staffing, regulatory changes, audits, Review Committee decisions and litigation may influence timelines. Under NAGPRA, institutions make Native American remains available for return and determine whether they are culturally affiliated using evidence such as tribal traditional knowledge and biological and archaeological links. From 2010 to 2024, remains could also be returned through disposition based on geographic affiliation. Institutions can also determine that remains are culturally unidentifiable. Tribes may request the transfer of these remains, or they may be reinterred by the institution.

These institutions have not made available for return the remains of at least 28,300 Native Americans that were taken from counties known to be of interest to the Osage Nation.

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
Illinois State Museum4,700
Indiana Univ.3,568
Dept. of Anthropology (3,067)
Glenn A. Black Lab. of Archeology (501)
Univ. of Kentucky2,535
Harvard Univ.2,387
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology (2,386)
Warren Anatomical Museum (1)
Univ. of Missouri, Columbia2,157
Center for American Archeology, Kampsville Archeological Center1,913
Univ. of Oklahoma1,365
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (1,327)
Oklahoma Archeological Survey (38)
Ohio History Connection1,210
Dept. of Defense895
St. Louis District (473)
Tulsa District (257)
Little Rock District (74)
Vicksburg District (46)
National Museum of Health and Medicine (15)
Pittsburgh District (13)
Rock Island District (9)
Kansas City District (6)
Fort Leonard Wood (2)
Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale783
Field Museum576
Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign575
Carnegie Museum of Natural History484
Cincinnati Museum Center451
Milwaukee Public Museum398
Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources283
Kansas State Historical Society276
Univ. of Kansas270
Univ. of Louisville247
West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History245
Missouri Dept. of Transportation194
American Museum of Natural History189
Indiana State Univ.185
Pennsylvania Western Univ., California183
Univ. of Cincinnati166
Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville146
Dept. of Anthropology (145)
Frank H. McClung Museum (1)
Gilcrease Museum142
Univ. of Wisconsin, Oshkosh127
State Museum of Pennsylvania122
West Texas A and M Univ.115
Univ. of Alabama98
Univ. of Michigan91
Western Kentucky Univ.74
Wisconsin Historical Society74
Museum Division (72)
Historic Preservation Division (2)
Dept. of the Interior64
Mammoth Cave NP (18)
Mingo National Wildlife Refuge (15)
Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge (11)
Chautauqua NWR (10)
Ozark National Scenic Riverways (4)
McGregor District, Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (3)
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (2)
Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge (1)
Univ. of Pennsylvania64
Southeast Missouri State Univ.59
Oshkosh Public Museum53
Northern Kentucky Univ.52
Cleveland Museum of Natural History50
Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology49
Mutter Museum, College of Physicians of Philadelphia47
Mississippi Dept. of Archives and History44
Dept. of Agriculture43
Shawnee NF (25)
Mark Twain NF (10)
Hoosier NF (4)
Wayne NF (4)
Virginia Dept. of Historic Resources43
Yale Univ.43
Univ. of Arkansas40
Museum (39)
Arkansas Archeological Survey (1)
Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites Corporation34
Western Illinois Univ.26
New York State Museum25
Univ. of Texas at Austin23
Univ. of Missouri, St. Louis21
Missouri State Univ.20
Stanford Univ. Heritage Services19
Univ. of Nebraska State Museum16
Temple Univ.15
Dayton Museum of Natural History14
Ball State Univ.13
Dept. of Energy13
Univ. of Iowa13
Cleveland State Univ.12
No Man's Land Historical Society12
Lawrence Univ.11
Brigham Young Univ.10
Univ. of Central Missouri10
Charleston Museum9
Ohio Univ.9
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency9
Hastings Museum8
Museum of Texas Tech Univ.8
New Harmony Workingmen's Institute8
Washington Univ.8
Wichita State Univ.8
Kent State Univ.7
Missouri Historical Society7
Tioga Point Museum7
Univ. of Memphis7
Filson Historical Society6
New York Univ.6
Clark County Historical Museum5
Houston Museum of Natural Science5
Nassau County Dept. of Parks and Recreation5
Univ. of Akron5
Goshen College4
Northwestern Univ.4
San Bernardino County Museum4
Univ. of Louisiana at Monroe4
Earlham College3
Kansas City Museum3
Minnesota Indian Affairs Council3
Rochester Museum and Science Center3
St. Joseph Museums, Inc.3
Univ. of Florida3
Univ. of Southern Indiana3
Louisiana State Exhibit Museum2
Madison County Historical Society2
Marshall Univ.2
Pennsylvania State Univ.2
Texas A and M Univ.2
Texas Dept. of Transportation2
Trinidad State Junior College2
Univ. of California, Berkeley2
Bridgewater College1
Buffalo Museum of Science1
Fort Smith Museum of History1
Hutchinson County Historical Museum1
Mississippi State Univ.1
Northwestern State Univ. of Louisiana1
Palmer Foundation for Chiropractic History1
Springfield Science Museum1
Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer1
Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill1
Univ. of Tulsa1
Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison1
Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee1
Wayne State Univ.1
Counties of interest used in estimate include: Arkansas, Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Clark, Clay, Cleburne, Columbia, Conway, Craighead, Crawford, Crittenden, Cross, Dallas, Desha, 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. Kings in California. Baca, Bent, Kiowa and Prowers in Colorado. Boone, Cass, Cherokee, Clayton, Clinton, Des Moines, Dickinson, Dubuque, Henry, Jackson, Jasper, Lee, Louisa, Marshall, Monona, Muscatine, Page, Plymouth, Pottawattamie, Scott, Story, Van Buren and Woodbury in Iowa. Adams, Alexander, Bond, Boone, Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Clinton, Coles, Douglas, Edwards, Fayette, Franklin, Fulton, Gallatin, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Henderson, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Knox, Lee, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Mason, Massac, Mcdonough, Mclean, Menard, Mercer, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Ogle, Peoria, Perry, Piatt, Pike, Pope, Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Rock Island, Saline, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, St. Clair, Stark, Stephenson, Tazewell, Union, Wabash, Warren, Washington, Wayne, White, Whiteside, Williamson, Winnebago and Woodford in Illinois. Clark, Crawford, Dearborn, Delaware, Dubois, Floyd, Franklin, Gibson, Harrison, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Orange, Perry, Pike, Posey, Ripley, Scott, Spencer, Switzerland, Vanderburgh, Warrick and Washington in Indiana. Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Barber, Barton, Bourbon, Brown, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Comanche, Cowley, Crawford, Decatur, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Edwards, Elk, Ellis, Ellsworth, Finney, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Gove, Graham, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Greenwood, Hamilton, Harper, Harvey, Haskell, Hodgeman, Jackson, Jefferson, Jewell, Johnson, Kearny, Kingman, Kiowa, Labette, Lane, Leavenworth, Lincoln, Linn, Logan, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, Mcpherson, Meade, Miami, Mitchell, Montgomery, Morris, Morton, Nemaha, Neosho, Ness, Norton, Osage, Osborne, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Pratt, Rawlins, Reno, Republic, Rice, Riley, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Saline, Scott, Sedgwick, Seward, Shawnee, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Stafford, Stanton, Stevens, Sumner, Thomas, Trego, Wabaunsee, Wallace, Washington, Wichita, Wilson, Woodson and Wyandotte in Kansas. Ballard, Boone, Boyd, Bracken, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Caldwell, Campbell, Carlisle, Carroll, Carter, Christian, Crittenden, Daviess, Edmonson, Fleming, Fulton, Gallatin, Grant, Graves, Grayson, Greenup, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Henderson, Henry, Hickman, Jefferson, Kenton, Lawrence, Lewis, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Marshall, Mason, Mccracken, Mclean, Meade, Ohio, Oldham, Owen, Pendleton, Robertson, Rowan, Shelby, Spencer, Trimble, Union and Webster in Kentucky. Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, De Soto, Grant, Jackson, Lincoln, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine, Union, Webster and Winn in Louisiana. 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, 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, St. Louis (County), Ste. Genevieve, Stoddard, Stone, Sullivan, Taney, Texas, Vernon, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Worth and Wright in Missouri. Claiborne, Clay, De Soto, Hancock, Lafayette, Lee, Monroe, Panola, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman, Tate, Tunica, Union, Warren, Washington, Webster and Yalobusha in Mississippi. Nance and Sarpy in Nebraska. Adams, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Butler, Carroll, Clermont, Columbiana, Gallia, Guernsey, Hamilton, Harrison, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mahoning, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Vinton, Warren and Washington in Ohio. 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, Tulsa, Wagoner, Washington, Washita, Woods and Woodward in Oklahoma. Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland in Pennsylvania. Anderson, Bowie, Cass, Dewitt, Gray, Hansford, Harrison, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Lipscomb, Marion, Ochiltree, Panola, Roberts, Shelby, Sherman and Wheeler in Texas. Tazewell in Virginia. Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Grant, Green, Jefferson, Lafayette, Rock, Walworth and Winnebago in Wisconsin.
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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