Federal Register #2026-21120

NAGPRA repatriation notices for human remains and cultural items held by three institutions

This National Park Service notice covers NAGPRA repatriation plans at three institutions; it is not a procurement or contract award. - Government agency: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. The notices concern collections held by Harvard University’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and Warren Anatomical Museum/Center for the History of Medicine, the Niles History Center (formerly the Fort St. Joseph Historical Association), and the Sauk County Historical Society. - Items identified: - Harvard: human remains representing one named individual, George Burr, held by the Warren Anatomical Museum and connected to the Solomon family; no associated funerary objects are reported. - Niles History Center: two ceramic vessels, associated funerary objects excavated from Goodall Mounds (#12LE9) in La Porte County, Indiana. One is referenced as collected from Mound 22 of the Goodall Group; the other is labeled 22e. - Sauk County Historical Society: five objects collected at Flaxman Island near Barrow, Alaska—one headless doll and four objects of cultural patrimony: a wood tool with a bone blade, a bone tool with a steel blade, a piece of ivory with two drilled holes, and a horn ladle. - Niles History Center cultural affiliation: The notice identifies connections to the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma; Forest County Potawatomi Community, Wisconsin; Kaw Nation, Oklahoma; Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas; Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi; Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Mille Lacs Band); Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, Michigan; Omaha Tribe of Nebraska; Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana; Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Ponca Tribe of Nebraska; Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation; Seneca Nation of Indians; Shawnee Tribe; and Tonawanda Band of Seneca. - Repatriation: The notices describe repatriation processes for the identified remains and objects. No products or services are being solicited, and no OEMs or commercial vendors are identified.

Description

The Niles History Center completed an inventory of two associated funerary objects, both ceramic vessels, and determined that they are culturally affiliated with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations listed in the notice. The vessels were excavated from Goodall Mounds in La Porte County, Indiana, and no human remains were identified. Repatriation may occur on or after November 16, 2026. The notice identifies the Niles History Center as responsible for handling repatriation requests.

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