Notice2025-15674

Notice of Inventory Completion: The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

Primary source

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Published
August 18, 2025

Issuing agencies

Interior DepartmentNational Park Service

Abstract

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of Kansas has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 157 (Monday, August 18, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 157 (Monday, August 18, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 40078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-15674]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[N6449; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0040859; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: The University of Kansas, 
Lawrence, KS

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of Kansas has completed an 
inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural 
affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native 
Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after September 17, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains 
in this notice to Dr. Thomas Torma, Repatriation Program Manager, The 
University of Kansas, Office of Audit, Risk, and Compliance, 1450 
Jayhawk Boulevard, 351 Strong Hall, Lawrence, KS 66045, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5f2b722b302d323e1f342a713a3b2a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5f2b722b302d323e1f342a713a3b2a">[email&#160;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 the 
University of Kansas, and additional information on the determinations 
in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in 
its inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not 
responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    Human remains representing at least nine individuals have been 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. These 
individuals were excavated from the Woodruff Ossuary Site (14PH4) 
located in Phillips County, Kansas. This site was excavated in 1946 by 
Marvin Kivett as part of the River Basin Surveys by the Smithsonian 
Institute in preparation for the development of Harlan County Reservoir 
in Nebraska. The donor and exact date of acquisition by the University 
of Kansas are unknown. Based on records, this site is affiliated with 
the Keith Phase of the Late Woodland with a single radiocarbon date of 
694<plus-minus>240 CE. There is no record of toxic substances having 
been used to treat these remains.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical 
location or acquisition history of the human remains described in this 
notice.

Determinations

    The University of Kansas has determined that:
    <bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of nine individuals of Native American ancestry.
    <bullet> There is a connection between the human remains described 
in this notice and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River 
Reservation, South Dakota; Kaw Nation, Oklahoma; and the Pawnee Nation 
of Oklahoma.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remainsin this 
notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this 
notice under ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be submitted by:
    1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations identified in this notice.
    2. 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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with 
cultural affiliation.
    Repatriation of the human remains described in this notice to a 
requestor may occur on or after September 17, 2025. If competing 
requests for repatriation are received, the University of Kansas must 
determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. 
Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains are considered a 
single request and not competing requests. The University of Kansas is 
responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and 
Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.

    Dated: August 6, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-15674 Filed 8-15-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P


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Indexed from Federal Register on August 18, 2025.

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