Notice2025-12838
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Ball State University, Muncie, IN
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 10, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Ball State University (BSU) intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of objects of cultural patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 130 (Thursday, July 10, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 130 (Thursday, July 10, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30663-30664]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-12838]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0040483; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Ball State University, Muncie,
IN
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Ball State University (BSU) intends to
repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of objects
of cultural patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with the
Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on
or after August 11, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Chyan Gilaspy, Ball State University,
Applied Anthropology Laboratories, 2000 W Riverside Avenue, Muncie, IN
47306, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b9f7f8fee9ebf8f9dbcacc97dcddcc"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7a343b3d2a283b3a18090f541f1e0f">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published as part of the
National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA.
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of BSU
and additional information on the determinations in this notice,
including the results of consultation, can be found in the summary or
related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the
determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
A total of 22 cultural items associated with 21 accession numbers
have been requested for repatriation. The 22 of objects of cultural
patrimony includes nine articles of clothing (moccasins, dress, vest,
sash, belt, cuffs), four dolls, one lot of trade beads, five bags
(parfleche, tipi, pipe), one ladle, one navel amulet, and one pipe
bowl. The items are part of five separate donations from three private
donors in 1983, 2013, and 2018. Six items had no known affiliation or
geographic information in accession records. The remaining items had
minimal provenance or potential affiliation data in the records. The
suspected affiliations were generic, e.g., one sash was listed as
``unknown Plains'', one belt was listed as ``Assiniboine, Montana'',
one tipi bag was listed as ``Cheyenne or Lakota, Plains'', and the
remaining 13 items were listed as ``Lakota, Plains''. There are no
institutional records indicating hazardous substances were used to
treat any of the cultural items listed, but requested XRF testing
indicated the presence of arsenic, lead, and/or mercury on the items
tested.
Determinations
BSU has determined that:
<bullet> The 22 objects of cultural patrimony described in this
notice have ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance
central to the Native American group, including any constituent sub-
group (such as a band, clan, lineage, ceremonial society, or other
subdivision), according to the Native American traditional knowledge of
an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
<bullet> There is a reasonable connection between the cultural
items described in this notice and the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of
the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana.
Requests for Repatriation
Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items
in this
[[Page 30664]]
notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this
notice under ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be submitted by
any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization
not identified in this notice who shows, by a preponderance of the
evidence, that the requestor is a lineal descendant or a culturally
affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to a requestor
may occur on or after August 11, 2025. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, BSU must determine the most appropriate
requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the
cultural items are considered a single request and not competing
requests. BSU is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the
Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this
notice and to any other consulting parties.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.
Dated: June 25, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-12838 Filed 7-9-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 10, 2025.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.