Notice of Intent to Repatriate
The National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution plans to repatriate the human remains of 59 individuals and 22 funerary objects originally from Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
The human remains and funerary objects were excavated during a series of federally funded excavations led by Arthur Kelly and James A. Ford that ran from approximately 1933 to 1942. Specific contexts from which these remains and objects were collected include Mound D, Mound C, and McDougal Mound. The human remains and funerary objects are found to be culturally affiliated with the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, the Kialegee Tribal Town, the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, The Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, the Poarch Creek Indians, the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town of the Creek Nation.
For more information, please contact Kevin Pierce Wright (202-633-0816) by August 15, 2026 Repatriation Office, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, NMNH, MRC 138, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012.