Dive Brief:

• Wesleyan University has announced that it is returning Native American human remains that it has held for more than a century.
• The university also posted an apology on its website.
• The action is mandated by a law passed in 1990, which requires federally funded museums and universities to repatriate human remains to recognized tribes.

Dive Insight:

The university has been out of compliance with the 1990 law for more than two decades now, but the repatriation is not a quick or easy process. Museum collections must be inventoried, then lists have to be sent to more than 500 recognized tribes. It will likely be several years before the process is finished.