This latest deaccession is part of the museum's years-long effort to return tribal artifacts under the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act.
Named after Muscogee Creek citizen Thomas Gilcrease, the museum houses a comprehensive collection of history from the American West, including items from numerous Indigenous tribes.
According to deaccession records first reported on by News On 6 and notices to the federal registrar, the museum will return almost 100 remains and thousands of artifacts to various tribes in and outside the state.
For Oklahoma, 64 ancestors and 1,322 funerary objects will be returned to the Osage Nation, Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Eastern Shawnee Tribe, Kaw Nation, Miami Tribe of Indians, Otoe-Missouria Tribe, Quapaw Nation, Peoria Tribe of Indians, Ponca Tribe of Indians, Sac and Fox Nation, Shawnee Tribe and numerous tribes in other parts of the country.
The artifacts and remains came from Pike County, Illinois.
According to ProPublica's repatriation tracker, since NAGPRA's implementation, the Gilcrease Museum of Tulsa has decreased its human remains collection from 600 to 200.
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