6,586 Native American Ancestors still sit in boxes at
Harvard University and its Peabody Museum.
Join us in demanding that Harvard comply with NAGRA now.

Dear Relatives and Cultural Sovereignty Protectors,

The Association on American Indian Affairs has called for accountability from Harvard University and its Peabody Museum to repatriate our Ancestors’ remains and cultural heritage that have been stolen from Native Nations and are protected under federal law.

On January 28, Harvard President Lawrence S. Bacow apologized for the institution’s colonial collection practices, especially concerning the discovery of the remains of Black enslaved persons. He has created a committee to look into this, as well as Harvard’s obligations under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. For Native Ancestors – the last thing we need is another academic committee.

We demand that Harvard and its Peabody Museum follow the law!

The Association has investigated Harvard Peabody’s practices and provided President Bacow with its understanding of Harvard’s failure to uphold its legal, ethical, and moral obligations to Native Nations and NAGPRA. You can read and sign on to our full letter to President Bacow here.

Some of what the Association found:

• After 30 years of NAGPRA, Harvard has only completed repatriation for 18.4% of the Ancestors in its collection; that means there are still 6,586 of our Ancestors and 13,610 of their burial belongings in boxes on shelves. Harvard is miles behind institutions with similarly large collections and far less resources.
• The Museum has failed to consult with Tribes as required by law when submitting inventories of their collections, even after asking the Secretary of the Interior for a 5-year extension to do so.
• The Museum has consistently made repatriation difficult by burdening Tribes with requirements beyond the scope of the law, refusing to complete repatriation cases, and requiring lengthy internal reviews that violate NAGPRA’s 90-day turnaround.
• Harvard has not made its NAGPRA processes, if any, known to the public.
• The museum has also failed to seek the free, prior and informed consent of Native Nations before allowing researchers and the public access to Ancestors’ remains and other sensitive cultural heritage.

The Association encourages you to join us in holding Harvard University and its Peabody Museum accountable. Make your voice heard by filling out this form.

SIGN ON TO OUR LETTER TO HARVARD

We also encourage you to voice your concerns on social media, tagging @Harvard and using the following hashtags: #HarvardFreeOurAncestors #HoldHarvardAccountable #DecolonizeHarvard #IvyLeagueDehumanization

Thank you for your commitment to our vision of creating a world in which all Indigenous cultures are protected, respected, celebrated and thriving!

–The Association on American Indian Affairs

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