A noted collection of more than 150 Native American artifacts, including wampum belts and finely beaded ceremonial garb, will stay – for now — where it has been housed for almost 70 years, at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass., officials announced Thursday.
The collection is owned by the Andover Newton Theological School, the country’s oldest seminary, but has long been housed at the museum.
The Native American items in question, mostly gathered in the 19th century by Christian missionaries, are part of a larger art collection numbering over 1,100 items that the seminary is now giving to the museum. The other items include 19th century photographs and embroidery from China
The school has been cited by federal regulators for failing to adequately follow a law designed to ensure the return of sacred and other special artifacts to Native American tribes.
Dan Monroe, director of the museum, said he plans to return many of the items to tribes. “We’ll pick up that process and move it along expeditiously,” said Monroe, a noted expert on the repatriation law.