What is UK’s Webb Museum? What to know about return process for Native American remains

Following a report about the large number of Native American remains and artifacts stored at the University of Kentucky, the school says it has been making progress toward repatriation and creating new positions to increase the ease of returning objects.

Native American remains and cultural items at UK are stored in the Webb Museum of Anthropology. Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, federal agencies and institutions are required to return Native American remains and cultural items to tribes. The law was passed in 1990 by Congress, but most remains located at museums and universities across the country still have not been returned, a report from ProPublica in January showed.

The repatriation efforts are underway at UK. Following a ProPublica investigation published earlier this year, UK announced it was investing nearly $900,000 to return remains to Native Americans in Kentucky, with the goal of returning all remains and cultural items held by the museum in a “transparent, respectful and legal manner following meaningful collaborative consultations with official Tribal representation,” UK said in a news release.

That investment will allow for more staff to begin working on repatriation efforts. Two new full-time employees will be hired to work on efforts, and the funding will also allow for current employees to devote more of their time to repatriation, said Celise Chilcote-Fricker, NAGPRA coordinator at UK.

What is the Webb Museum?

Remains and objects held by UK are stored at the Webb Museum of Anthropology, although the name is slightly misleading. The museum doesn’t maintain many exhibits, with just a small exhibition area in Lafferty Hall on campus. Most of the museum is dedicated to storage of historical items in a climate-controlled environment, Chilcote-Fricker said.

Among the items stored in the museum are human remains of Native Americans who died, as well as cultural items and funerary objects which could include objects like a pipe, musical instrument or item of clothing. The museum also stores other historical items that are not associated with Native American tribes.

Since January 2020, UK has had a research moratorium in place on Native American remains and objects. NAGPRA does not require a research moratorium, but Chilcote-Fricker said UK decided to put one in place in order to respect the remains and objects held at the university.

“Best practice is to establish one of these research moratoriums because, for the most part, tribes don’t want research being done on their ancestors or their belongings, especially without their consent,” Chilcote-Fricker said. “We just really wanted to make a solid statement, saying that was no longer happening, and that we’re prioritizing repatriation over any sort of research.”

Chilcote-Fricker became the NAGPRA compliance officer in 2019. In that role, she oversees repatriation efforts at the Webb Museum. She is also an assistant professor in the department of anthropology at UK.

UK said it has implemented several initiatives in recent years related to NAGPRA, including developing a digital database for ancestral remains and objects and sharing it with Native nations, forming a NAGPRA advisory group, and building relationships with Native nations.

Chilcote-Fricker said in recent years, a “younger generation” of NAGPRA coordinators have taken on positions within institutions who have recognized the importance of returning these objects to their original tribes. These objects were taken without permission, and are now being attempted to be returned in a respectful manner, she said.

“There’s been a generational shift that has happened in the last decade or so,” Chilcote-Fricker said. “Yes, it’s been 30 years (since NAGPRA was passed). ... There’s been a lot of shifts in the dynamics, departmental dynamics of power and things, and the younger generation really is and has been actively for the past five to 10 years, really pushing for prioritizing repatriation.”

How did these items end up at UK?

Native American remains came to UK through part of the New Deal’s public work projects nearly a century ago, when archaeological sites across the nations were excavated, Chilcote-Fricker said. However, those excavations took the remains and cultural items of Native Americans without consent of the tribes, and housed them at museums and institutions, including the Webb Museum.

UK holds the sixth highest amount of Native American remains that have not yet been made available for return to tribes, according to ProPublica. Other institutions that also hold high numbers of un-returned remains include the University of California Berkeley, the Illinois State Museum and Harvard University. Regionally, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley Authority also hold high numbers of un-returned remains and items.

UK has the highest number of un-returned remains in the state, according to ProPublica. Other institutions in the state with remains each have less than 400.

UK holds 4,476 Native American ancestor remains and 7,757 funerary belongings, UK officials said in January. Of those, 610 ancestors and more than 5,600 funerary objects have been culturally affiliated and are in the process of being returned to tribes.

Representatives from the Shawnee tribe, who have worked with UK on repatriation efforts, did not respond to a request for comment.

How do items get returned to tribes?

UK has an internal, searchable database containing an inventory of the objects held at the Webb Museum, Chilcote-Fricker said.

The return process can begin in several different ways. Sometimes the university will reach out to tribal leaders when it thinks it may be in possession of items that belong to that tribe. Other times, members of a Native American tribe will approach the university to see if any of the objects belong to the tribe, Chilcote-Fricker said.

Once an object has been identified, there’s a process outlined in NAGPRA for confirming an object is affiliated with that tribe. There are a series of consultations that can vary based on what the objects are, Chilcote-Fricker said.

There is also a 30 day waiting period, which allows other tribes to contact the university if they think an object has been claimed by the incorrect tribe. After that period, physical transfer of the object can occur. The transfer can happen as soon as the same day, or could take several years, depending on what the tribal members want and arrange, Chilcote-Fricker said.

Are there other remains not yet returned in Kentucky?

Other universities, museums and organizations in Kentucky hold remains that have not yet been returned. According to the NAGPRA inventory and ProPublica investigation, these organizations are:

• Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site, Kentucky Department of Parks (0% of remains made available for return)

• Western Kentucky University (1% of remains made available for return)
  
  

• University of Louisville (6% of remains made available for return)

• U.S. Department of the Interior (0% of remains made available for return)

• Northern Kentucky University (0% of remains made available for return)

• U.S. Department of Agriculture (46% of remains made available for return)

• Speed Art Museum (0% of remains made available for return)

• Capital City Museum (0% of remains made available for return)

• Filson Historical Society (50% of remains made available for return)

• Murray State University (99% of remains made available for return)

Other organizations in Kentucky have made 100% of the remains held available for return, including the Kentucky Historical Society, the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Justice.