FAMSF complies with NAGPRA, a federal law of the United States passed in 1990 that compels museums and institutions that receive federal funding to consult with Native American tribes and lineal descendants concerning human remains and other cultural items in their collections “. . . to address the rights of lineal descendants, Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations to Native American cultural items, including human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony.”  

As of April 2024, FAMSF has deaccessioned all Native American human remains currently in the Museums’ physical possession through FAMSF’s formal deaccessioning process. The Museum will continue to care for these remains until they are repatriated to affiliated communities per NAGPRA.

Repatriation claims received (consultation in process)

• FAMSF has received a NAGPRA (25 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq.) claim from the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska for 12 items: 6 identified as Objects of Cultural Patrimony and 6 items identified as Unassociated Funerary Objects. Consultation is in process.
• FAMSF received a NAGPRA (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq) claim from the Pueblo of Acoma for an earthenware jar in January 2020. Consultation is in process.

Repatriation complete (awaiting physical transfer to tribe)

In accordance with the NAGPRA (25 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq) and its implementing regulations (43 CFR Part 10), FAMSF transferred control of three unassociated funerary objects to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the Chickasaw Nation in 2024. The items are awaiting physical transfer to the Tribes (Federal Register, Volume 89, Number 36, February 22, 2024).

Past repatriation

In accordance with the NAGPRA (25 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq) and its implementing regulations (43 CFR Part 10), FAMSF repatriated a shield to the Pueblo of Acoma in September 2023 (Federal Register, Volume 88, Number 110, June 8, 2023).

For inquiries, please contact nagpra@famsf.org.

FAMSF is required to comply with state law CalNAGPRA (California Health & Safety Code §§ 8010-30) that “requires all state agencies and museums that receive state funding and that have possession or control over collections of human remains or cultural items to provide a process for the identification and repatriation of these items to the appropriate tribes.”

In preparation for FAMSF’s submission of a preliminary inventory to the Native American Heritage Commission (Commission) under CalNAGPRA, FAMSF compiled an itemized list of the “California Indian tribe human remains”/“California Native American human remains” in the collection of FAMSF. Provenance research is also in process. We have notified California Indian tribes on the Commission’s contact list that may be culturally affiliated with these human remains. We are consulting with California Indian tribes that may be culturally affiliated with the human remains to establish cultural affiliation and submit our final inventory to the Commission as soon as possible so we can repatriate the human remains to the appropriate tribes. 

Collection history

Founding collections of the de Young museum, now part of FAMSF, were established in 1895 from the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition held in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. In the late 1890s and very early 20th century, human remains from California were donated to the museum by private citizens.

As an art museum, FAMSF does not display or interpret Native American human remains and seeks to repatriate all remaining holdings. None of the remains have been on view since the new de Young building opened in 2005; museum records do not indicate that such remains were on view before 2005. FAMSF does not conduct any scientific research or study on these holdings, and they are housed in restricted storage. There is no physical or digital access to the remains by the public, and FAMSF staff access the remains only as necessary for responsible stewardship.

As of April 2024, FAMSF has deaccessioned all California Native American human remains currently in the Museums’ physical possession through FAMSF’s formal deaccessioning process. FAMSF will repatriate the remains to affiliated communities per CalNAGPRA and NAGPRA. 

Long-term loans and physical possession

FAMSF seeks to repatriate California Native American human remains currently in its physical possession. In the 1960s, FAMSF granted long-term loans of collections to other public institutions and entities for “exhibition, care and study.” We have renewed our efforts to recall and resolve these outstanding loans and will submit updated inventories in the future, as applicable.

Past repatriation of California Native American human remains

On March 1, 1996, FAMSF repatriated 91 Ohlone Ancestral human remains from Point Richmond, Contra Costa County, to Andrew Galvin, the Ohlone Indian Tribe, Mission San Jose, Fremont, California. (Inventory submitted for 9 accessions representing 91 items to the National NAGPRA Program on May 29, 1996.)  

For inquiries, please contact nagpra@famsf.org.

Repatriation of mural fragments from Teotihuacan, Mexico 

The Teotihuacan mural fragments were donated to the museums in 1976 through a bequest from Harald J. Wagner. The provenience, or place of origin, of the mural fragments was discovered nearly a decade later through an archaeological excavation project that was jointly supported by the US National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Department of Anthropology at the University of Rochester, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). This project, led by archaeologist René Millon, determined that the mural fragments originated from an elite residential compound at Teotihuacan called Techinantitla.

In 1981, FAMSF entered into an agreement with the government of Mexico under which over half of the bequest to the Museums by Wagner of 70 Teotihuacan mural fragments were voluntarily returned to Mexico. The agreement also provided for the joint conservation of the fragments by conservators from the United States. This agreement and collaboration laid a foundation for decades of exhibition projects and cultural programming with Mexico.

Repatriation of Māori Ancestral human remains to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand

In 2018, FAMSF repatriated eight Ancestral human remains identified as Māori to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. FAMSF continues to work with the national Karanga Aotearoa repatriation program concerning an additional cranium in the collection that is classified as “indeterminate and uncertain but likely to be Māori.” Repatriation of the human remains to New Zealand was the culmination of research to confirm the cultural affiliation of remains in FAMSF’s collection after receiving a request from the New Zealand government. The national Karanga Aotearoa repatriation program is administered by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Repatriation of two Ancestral human remains to the Philippines

In 2020, FAMSF deaccessioned two crania collected by US personnel during the Philippine-American War (1899–1902) between the Philippines and the United States. They will be conveyed to the National Museum of the Philippines. “As per the Philippine Cultural Properties Preservation and Protection Act (RA 4846) and the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 (RA 10066), the National Museum is responsible for cultural property and anthropological collections of importance to the Philippines, and may recover cultural properties under the custody of foreign entities (RA 10066, Section 29).”

The Benin Bronzes originated from Benin City, the capital of the Kingdom of Benin, which prospered from the 14th to the 17th century. In 1897, the British raided the Benin Kingdom and looted thousands of royal artworks and artifacts. Today, Benin City is part of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The current King or Oba of Benin is His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo Oba Ewuare II. 

FAMSF stewards four artworks in the Benin royal court style. Among these, the Museums identified two as Benin Bronzes: a bronze plaque and a bronze hip ornament. FAMSF acquired these objects from the international art market, but they were removed from display in the Arts of Africa gallery in 2022 due to their provenance as looted artworks. The other two artworks are also in the Benin royal court style. They are made of wood, and include a head of the Oba and a ceremonial table or stool. The stool was displayed in the gallery from 2005 to 2022, while FAMSF has not exhibited the head of the Oba since 2005. 

Current status 

These four Benin royal court objects are collected and stored at the de Young museum. Information about them is accessible on the FAMSF website. Three are listed on Digital Benin, a platform that consolidates global collections, historical photographs, and documentation related to the Benin Kingdom’s looted objects. FAMSF is a member of Digital Benin and participates in the initiative to provide a comprehensive and accessible overview of Benin objects. 

FAMSF actively engages with communities, conducts ongoing provenance research, and works to advance the repatriation of these artworks in alignment with the above-mentioned ethical codes of conduct and professional practices, including the Arts Council of the African Studies Association’s Working Group on Collaboration, Collections, and Restitution Best Practices.