HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — The public can no longer access a Native American display at the State Museum of Pennsylvania.

Located on the second floor of the museum, the exhibit explored Pennsylvania’s Native American culture and excavations by archeologists before closing this May. Workers are now deinstalling objects, a process expected to take months, subject to federal regulations that took effect in January 2024.

Much of the museum’s collection, which it acquired over the last 120 years, came from excavations in the late 19th and early 20th century, “before modern ethical standards,” said Jay Losiewicz, a spokesperson for the museum, which is a bureau of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Its inventory includes the remains of 908 individuals and 79,628 associated funerary objects.

Enacted in 1990, the Native American Graves Protection and Reparation Act, also known as NAGPRA, required federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funds to repatriate or transfer Native American human remains and other cultural items to lineal descendants, Native American tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. After many institutions failed to comply with the law, changes in 2024 tasked museums and federal agencies to consult and update inventories of human remains and associated funerary objects within five years.

Museums that fail to comply with the law face penalties from the U.S. Department of the Interior. However, a 2024 report from the National Park Service showed it collected just $59,111 in civil penalties since 1990, despite only 43% of museums subject to NAGPRA resolving rights to all Native American human remains under their possession or control.

The State Museum said it is consulting with federally recognized tribes and nations during the process, and that it has already repatriated dozens of remains and objects.

The Shawnee Tribe confirmed this in a statement:

The Shawnee Tribe’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office are in the beginning stages of meeting with the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC) for NAGPRA and possible consultation on future exhibits.
Princella Redcorn, communications coordinator for The Shawnee Tribe

Other original inhabitants the museum said it is consulting include the Delaware (Lenape) Tribes, the Seneca Nation of Indians, the Tuscarora Nation and the Pamunkey Tribe. Despite being denied land in Pennsylvania, these tribes have a strong presence outside the state and are federally recognized as nations.

“The State Museum is committed to creating a new Native American history exhibit in cooperation with federally-recognized Native Tribes and Nations,” Losiewicz said in a statement. “Native American voices and perspectives will be central to all aspects of the exhibit’s creation.”

He added this will ensure their stories and history in Pennsylvania are told accurately and respectfully.

The museum does not expect to reopen the Native American exhibit before the entire museum closes for a nearly three-year renovation in August 2026.