NEW HAVEN -- Officials at the Yale Peabody Museum have identified human remains and eight funerary objects in its collection to be repatriated to Native American tribes of the Wabanaki Nations in Maine.

In notices posted by the National Park Service, the Yale Peabody Museum announced this month it had identified remains of Native American ancestors and funerary objects in its collection that were donated in 1926 and 1969 that were removed from shell mounds and other burial contexts in Maine.

"The Yale Peabody Museum is committed to working with Native American Tribes to fulfill our NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) responsibilities," Steven Scarpa, a spokesman for the museum, said in a statement. "In doing so, we defer to a confidential process that respects Tribal privacy. We are dedicated to realizing our goals regarding consultation and repatriation through meaningful relationships with our Tribal partners."

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act went into effect in 1990 to facilitate the respectful return of human remains, as well as funerary objects, sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony, according to the National Park Service. It places an emphasis on museums and tribes communicating to better understand each other.

"Since 1990, the museum has consulted with multiple tribes from across the country that may be culturally affiliated with its collections," Scarpa said. "Those ongoing consultations are confidential to respect the privacy of the communities involved."

The museum reported that human remains belonging to "at least" one ancestor connected to the Wabanaki Nations -- the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Mi'kmaq Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation.

Those remains were taken from a shell mound near the Oak Point on Deer Isle in Hancock County in Maine between 1948 and 1952 by H. Gordon Rowe and later donated by his wife in 1969, according to the report.

The museum also reported that Warren K. Moorehead, "who is known to have conducted an extensive archaeological survey of Maine between 1912 and 1920," removed eight cultural items from burial contexts in Maine around 1915 that were transferred to George Thompson before being donated to the museum in 1926.

Those objects include two spearheads, one plummet and one lot of red ochre removed from cemeteries in Hancock County, Maine; three gouges from Knox County, Maine; and one gouge from Penobscot County, Maine, according to the report.

According to the notice, the museum determined those items were intentionally placed there as part of a death rite or ceremony.

Last year, an investigation by CT Insider found the Yale Peabody Museum holds about 90 percent of the Native American ancestors who still have not been repatriated. The museum said at the time it has taken concrete steps to jumpstart its repatriation efforts.

In 2024, Yale Peabody Museum reported repatriating the physical remains of 13 people and 25 items connected with burials to the Santa Ynez Reservation in California.