The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago has identified several cultural items belonging to the Hopi Tribe of Arizona.
The items include bowls and other ceramics that were excavated in the late 1800s.
Written records, oral accounts and tribal consultation established that the items are Hopi.
Field notes indicate that the items may have been removed from burial sites, and later sold to an archaeologist working with the museum.
Federal law now requires such objects to be returned whenever possible. The museum has notified the tribe and will transfer the items to the tribe unless descendants tied to the burial sites come forward.
