Six Native American skulls, acquired to advance the pseudoscience of phrenology, have been returned by the University of Edinburgh to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, a self-governed Native American Tribal Nation.

The tribe is now based in Oklahoma having been forcibly displaced in the event known as the ‘Trail of Tears’ that followed the Indian Removal Act in 1830. The Muscogee Nation were the dominant culture and people of the Southeastern territory before European contact in 1539.

Sometime before 1858, these skulls were donated to the City’s Phrenological Society, a separate entity to the University of Edinburgh, by Professor W. Byrd Powell (1799-1867), an American disciple of phrenology.

Phrenology was a vile but popular theory during the 19^th and early 20^th centuries that espoused racist theories of inferiority based on the contours and dimensions of a skull. Powell was a strong believer in these theories, embarking on the study of Native American skulls because he hoped to establish links between their measurements, intellect and character traits.

For several years, the University has been seeking ways to address this uncomfortable legacy and maintains it has carried out ‘one of the most ambitious and wide-ranging academically-led examinations of history and race undertaken in the UK’. The Race Review it commissioned is understood to be driving sustained and meaningful change at the University, including the creation of a response group to further consider and consult on its recommendations.

The formal ceremony held this month (23 January) to hand over the six Muscogee skulls to the Nation’s Department of Culture and Humanities is a result of this process. The University believes it is the first ever international repatriation of ancestral remains to mainland United States. Following the ceremony, the skulls will be repatriated to the tribe’s original homelands in the Southeastern United States.

“What makes this occasion even more special and meaningful for us,” said David Hill, Principal Chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, “is that we had to travel over 4,000 miles and cross an ocean to receive the kind of dignity and decency that we still cannot find here at home.”

“There are ancestors still not whole that are kept by institutions here in America,” he added. “We can only hope that this incredible gesture by the University of Edinburgh will inspire these institutions to do the same.”

Although phrenology theories have long since been discredited, the University of Edinburgh’s Anatomical Museum is just one of many western collections that still retain large numbers of remains once collected for phrenological study.

“Caring for and addressing the history of our collections is a key responsibility for the University and repatriations play a central role in this work,” said Professor Tom Gillingwater, Chair of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh. “They also offer incredibly meaningful opportunities for us to work with communities around the world to build relationships and gain a better understanding of our shared past.”

Altogether, the Museum holds a collection of about one thousand items, including human and zoological skulls, plaster casts and artworks. All were transferred from the City’s Phrenological Society when it closed in 1886.

Photo: Muscogee Repatriation Ceremony, January 2026

Courtesy of Neil Hanna