The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) plans to return a cultural item, a basket, to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. This decision follows the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which helps return cultural items of significance to Native American tribes. The basket was used historically for transporting infants to the agency office for adoption by non-Native families. The BIA is accepting additional requests for repatriation from other descendants or tribes who can prove cultural ties to the item, with plans to return it after February 18, 2025, if no competing requests are made.
Simple Explanation
The U.S. Department of the Interior wants to give back a special basket to the Cherokee people because it's important to their culture and history. They are checking first to see if anyone else also should get it by looking for other people or groups related to the basket before they give it back next year.