Throughout this part, cultural affiliation ensures that disposition or repatriation of human remains or cultural items is based on a reasonable connection with an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization. Cultural affiliation must be determined by the information available, including information provided by an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization. Cultural affiliation does not require exhaustive studies, additional research, or continuity through time. Cultural affiliation is not precluded solely because of reasonable gaps in the information available.

(a) Step 1: Collect information available. A museum, Federal agency, or DHHL must collect information it holds about human remains or cultural items, including, but not limited to, records, catalogues, relevant studies, and other pertinent data. Additional information may be provided by an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.

(1) One or more of the following equally relevant types of information about human remains or cultural items may be available:

(i) Anthropological;

(ii) Archaeological;

(iii) Biological;

(iv) Folkloric;

(v) Geographical;

(vi) Historical;

(vii) Kinship;

(viii) Linguistic;

(ix) Oral Traditional; or

(x) Other relevant information or expert opinion, including Native American traditional knowledge.

(2) A lack of any type of information does not preclude a determination of cultural affiliation. One type of information may be used to determine cultural affiliation when no other relevant information is available.

(b) Step 2: Identify the required criteria. Using the information available, including information provided by an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization, a museum, Federal agency, or DHHL must identify the three criteria for cultural affiliation.

(1) Each of the following criteria must be identified in the information available:

(i) One or more earlier groups connected to the human remains or cultural items;

(ii) One or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations; and

(iii) A relationship of shared group identity between the earlier group and the Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization that can be reasonably traced through time.

(2) One type of information may be sufficient to reasonably identify the required criteria when no other relevant information is available. For example, geographical information about human remains or cultural items may identify:

(i) The earlier groups of people connected to a geographical location;

(ii) The Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization connected to a geographical location; and

(iii) A relationship of shared group identity between the two traced through time.

(c) Step 3: Make a determination of cultural affiliation. A museum, Federal agency, or DHHL must make a written record of its determination of cultural affiliation that briefly describes the information available under paragraph (a) of this section and the criteria identified under paragraph (b) of this section.

(1) The determination must be one of the following:

(i) Cultural affiliation is identified clearly by the information available,

(ii) Cultural affiliation is identified reasonably by the geographical location or acquisition history, or

(iii) Cultural affiliation cannot be clearly or reasonably identified.

(2) Cultural affiliation of human remains or cultural items may be with more than one Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization. For example, an identifiable earlier group may have a relationship to more than one Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization, or two or more earlier groups may be connected to human remains or cultural items and a relationship may be reasonably traced to two or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations that do not themselves have a shared group identity. In Hawai`i, two or more Native Hawaiian organizations may be part of the same Native Hawaiian Community, but may have distinct beliefs, protocols, and other cultural practices passed down through different familial, cultural, and geographical lineages.

(d) Joint disposition or repatriation. When a museum, Federal agency, or DHHL determines cultural affiliation of human remains or cultural items with two or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with cultural affiliation may submit a claim for disposition or a request for repatriation. Any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with cultural affiliation may agree to joint disposition or joint repatriation of the human remains or cultural items. Claims or requests for joint disposition or joint repatriation of human remains or cultural items are considered a single claim or request and not competing claims or requests. A single claim or request may be on behalf of multiple Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Disposition or repatriation statements required under this part must identify all joint claimants or requestors.

(e) Competing claims or requests. When there are competing claims for disposition or competing requests for repatriation of human remains or cultural items, a museum, Federal agency, or DHHL must determine the Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with the closest cultural affiliation. In support of a competing claim or request, each claimant or requestor may provide information to show by a preponderance of the evidence that it has a stronger relationship of shared group identity to the human remains or cultural items.

(1) The Indian Tribe with the closest cultural affiliation, in the following order, is:

(i) The Indian Tribe whose cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available.

(ii) The Indian Tribe whose cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical location and acquisition history of the human remains or cultural items.

(iii) The Indian Tribe whose cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by only the geographical location of the human remains or cultural items.

(iv) The Indian Tribe whose cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by only the acquisition history of the human remains or cultural items.

(2) The Native Hawaiian organization with the closest cultural affiliation, in the following order, is:

(i) The 'ohana that can trace an unbroken connection of named individuals to one or more of the human remains or cultural items, but not necessarily to all the human remains or cultural items from a specific site.

(ii) The 'ohana that can trace a relationship to the ahupua`a where the human remains or cultural items were removed and a direct kinship to one or more of the human remains or cultural items, but not necessarily an unbroken connection of named individuals.

(iii) The Native Hawaiian organization with cultural affiliation only to the earlier occupants of the ahupua`a where the human remains or cultural items were removed, and not to the earlier occupants of any other ahupua`a.

(iv) The Native Hawaiian organization with cultural affiliation to either:

(A) The earlier occupants of the ahupua`a where the human remains or cultural items were removed, as well as to the earlier occupants of other ahupua`a on the same island, but not to the earlier occupants of all ahupua`a on that island, or to the earlier occupants of any other island of the Hawaiian archipelago; or

(B) The earlier occupants of another island who accessed the ahupua`a where the human remains or cultural items were removed for traditional or customary practices and were buried there.

(v) The Native Hawaiian organization with cultural affiliation to the earlier occupants of all ahupua`a on the island where the human remains or cultural items were removed, but not to the earlier occupants of any other island of the Hawaiian archipelago.

(vi) The Native Hawaiian organization with cultural affiliation to the earlier occupants of more than one island in the Hawaiian archipelago that has been in continuous existence from a date prior to 1893.

(vii) Any other Native Hawaiian organization with cultural affiliation.