Notice2025-17615
Notice of Inventory Completion: Washtenaw County Medical Examiner's Office, Ann Arbor, MI
Primary source
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Published
September 12, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner's Office has completed an inventory of human remains (hereinafter referred to as "Ancestral remains" or "Ancestors") and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the Ancestral remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 175 (Friday, September 12, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 175 (Friday, September 12, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44220-44221]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-17615]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6497; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041039; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Washtenaw County Medical
Examiner's Office, Ann Arbor, MI
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 Washtenaw County Medical Examiner's
Office has completed an inventory of human remains (hereinafter
referred to as ``Ancestral remains'' or ``Ancestors'') and associated
funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural
affiliation between the Ancestral remains and associated funerary
objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this
notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the Ancestral remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after October 14, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the Ancestral
remains and associated funerary objects in this notice to Lisa Belanger
Neal, Washtenaw County Medical Examiner's Office, 1500 E Medical Center
Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5c303532393d301c313938722931353f3472393829"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8be7e2e5eeeae7cbe6eeefa5fee6e2e8e3a5eeeffe">[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 the
Washtenaw County Medical Examiner's Office, 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
Ancestral remains representing, at least, one individual have been
identified. The one associated funerary object is one lot of copper
beads. The Ancestral remains and associated funerary object were
reportedly excavated from a family farm in Saline, Michigan in the
1950's and were later discovered as part of an estate settlement. The
Ancestor and associated funerary objects were transferred to the
Washtenaw County Forensic and Autopsy Services in November of 2024, and
given the M.E. Case Number: 81-24-0975. A forensic anthropology
analysis was completed on November 12, 2024. The Ancestral remains are
of an adult 25-35 years female. Dating for the site is unknown.
The Washtenaw County Medical Examiner's Office has no record of,
nor do its officials have any knowledge of, any treatment of items with
pesticides, preservatives, or other substances that represent a
potential hazard to the collection(s) or to persons handling the
collection(s).
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 Ancestral remains and associated
funerary objects described in this notice.
Determinations
The Washtenaw County Medical Examiner's Office has determined that:
<bullet> The Ancestral remains described in this notice represent
the physical remains of one individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The one object described in this notice are reasonably
believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual
Ancestral remains at the time of death or later as part of the death
rite or ceremony.
<bullet> There is a connection between the Ancestral remains and
associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Absentee-
Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Bad River Band of the Lake
Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation,
Wisconsin; Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan; Chippewa Cree Indians
of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana; Citizen Potawatomi Nation,
Oklahoma; Delaware Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of Indians; Eastern
Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Forest County Potawatomi Community,
Wisconsin; Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians,
Michigan; Hannahville Indian Community, Michigan; Keweenaw Bay Indian
Community, Michigan; Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas; Kickapoo
Tribe of Indians of the Kickapoo Reservation in Kansas; Kickapoo Tribe
of Oklahoma; Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
of Wisconsin; Lac du Flambeau Band of
[[Page 44221]]
Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation of
Wisconsin; Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of
Michigan; Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Michigan; Little Shell
Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana; Little Traverse Bay Bands of
Odawa Indians, Michigan; Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi
Indians of Michigan; Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin; Miami Tribe
of Oklahoma; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Six component
reservations: Bois Forte Band (Nett Lake); Fond du Lac Band; Grand
Portage Band; Leech Lake Band; Mille Lacs Band; White Earth Band);
Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, Michigan; Ottawa Tribe of
Oklahoma; Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Pokagon Band of
Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana; Prairie Band Potawatomi
Nation; Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin;
Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, Minnesota; Sac & Fox Nation of
Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox
Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa; Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of
Michigan; Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Seneca
Nation of Indians; Seneca-Cayuga Nation; Shawnee Tribe; Sokaogon
Chippewa Community, Wisconsin; St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin;
Tonawanda Band of Seneca; Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of
North Dakota; and the Wyandotte Nation.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the Ancestral remains and
associated funerary objects in 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 Ancestral remains and associated funerary
objects described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after
October 14, 2025. If competing requests for repatriation are received,
the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner's Office must determine the most
appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint
repatriation of the Ancestral remains and associated funerary objects
are considered a single request and not competing requests. The
Washtenaw County Medical Examiner's Office is responsible for sending a
copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations identified in this notice and any other consulting
parties.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.
Dated: August 29, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-17615 Filed 9-11-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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