NAGPRA - Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
Since federal recognition in May 1994, the Mohegan Tribe has been making a serious effort to reclaim artifacts of our ancestors. This effort was helped by the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990. This requires all museums and institutions who receive federal funds to compile lists of Native American items in their possession and notify the tribes of what they have.
One of the most significant artifacts ever returned to the Mohegan Tribe through NAGPRA is Uncas's bowl. This wooden succotash bowl has two wolfhead handles and is believed to have belonged to Sachem Uncas.
A man who had worked on excavation of a local highway, which unearthed Mohegan graves in 1957, also returned to the Mohegan Tribe a plated metal 17th century spoon and polished granite pestle for grinding corn.
