State Repatriation Office

Arizona State Museum administers the protection, respectful treatment, and repatriation of human remains discovered on state and private land in Arizona (A.R.S. § 41-844 and § 41-865, respectively). State lands means lands owned or controlled by the State of Arizona or by any agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision of the State of Arizona, including any county or municipal corporation.

Among its responsibilities, the Repatriation Office oversees:

• The discovery and repatriation of human remains discovered on state (A.R.S. § 41-844) and private (A.R.S. § 41-865) land in Arizona.
• Burial Agreements for planned projects when there is reasonable expectation that human remains may be encountered.
• Reports on the inadvertent discovery of human remains.
• Consultations regarding human remains discovery.

Reports on the inadvertent discovery of human remains or general questions about state repatriation should be directed to Claire Barker (csbarker@email.arizona.edu or 520-626-0320) or Cristin Lucas (lucasc@email.arizona.edu or 520-626-2950).

All requests for service from the ASM Repatriation Office use the ASM Request Quote for Services website at: https://uavpr.arizona.edu/ASM/quoterequest. Please note that in addition to filling out the form on the quote request website, forms and additional backup documentation are required for all services. Links to forms, form instructions, and other guidance documents may be found here. 

A list of private consultants that may be able to assist in complying with state laws may be found here.

For information about federal consultation, visit the Government-to-Government Consultation Toolkit. Please note, the information in the toolkit does not supersede consultation under state law.