Notice2025-17635
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
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
September 12, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Denver Art Museum intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of sacred objects 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 175 (Friday, September 12, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 175 (Friday, September 12, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44235-44236]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-17635]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6508; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041053; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Denver Art Museum intends to repatriate
certain cultural items that meet the definition of sacred objects 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 October 14, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Jennifer (Jennie) Trujillo, Denver Art
Museum, 100 W 14th Avenue Parkway, Denver, CO 80204, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e08a9492958a898c8c8fa084858e9685928192948d959385958dce8f9287"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a4ced0d6d1cecdc8c8cbe4c0c1cad2c1d6c5d6d0c9d1d7c1d1c98acbd6c3">[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
Denver Art Museum, 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 two cultural items have been requested for repatriation.
The two sacred objects are wooden Prayer Sticks. In 1960, the museum
purchased a single Prayer Stick from Willis Tilton of Topeka, Kansas.
The object was identified at the time as a ``typical prayer stick of
the Kennekuk Church, ca. 1820.'' According to museum records, it was
originally collected as part of a larger group of Prayer Sticks by
Floyd Schultz, a Clay Center, Kansas businessman and civic leader, who
was also an amateur archeologist and ethnologist (catalog #E91D).
Schultz described items E91A-F in his records as ``Prayer sticks.
Kickapoo. Obtained from Mae Shoptese, a Potawatomi Indian woman.'' A
second Prayer Stick was donated to the museum in 1985 by Dr. Charles J.
Norton of Denver, Colorado. Museum records indicate that this Prayer
Stick was purchased by Norton from Pat Read, an art dealer based in
Lawrence, Kansas, around 1959-61. Consultation with representatives of
the Kickapoo Tribe has confirmed that both objects are Prayer Sticks
from the Kennekuk Church, which is located exclusively on the Kickapoo
Reservation in Kansas. Based on tribal consultation and a review of
museum records, the Denver Art Museum has determined that these Prayer
Sticks are ceremonial objects used by members of the Kennekuk Church in
religious practices. They continue to hold active significance in the
church's present-day services. The inscriptions on the sticks contain
prayers specific to the Kennekuk religion and possess spiritual meaning
for all members of the church. According to church tradition, these
Prayer Sticks are intended either to remain with the Kennekuk Church or
to be used in burial services. If not interred with individual members,
the sticks are passed along to other church members. As such, they are
considered inalienable and should not have left the community.
[[Page 44236]]
Determinations
The Denver Art Museum has determined that:
<bullet> The two sacred objects described in this notice are
specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional Native American
religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional
Native American religion, according to the Native American traditional
knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian
organization.
<bullet> There is a connection between the cultural items described
in this notice and the Kickapoo Tribe of Indians of the Kickapoo
Reservation in Kansas.
Requests for Repatriation
Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items
in this 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 October 14, 2025. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the Denver Art Museum 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. The Denver Art Museum 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: August 29, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-17635 Filed 9-11-25; 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 September 12, 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.