Notice2025-17875
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, Decatur, AL
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 16, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 177 (Tuesday, September 16, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 16, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44699-44700]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-17875]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6530; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041083; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior,
Fish and Wildlife Service, Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, Decatur,
AL
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge (NWR),
has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary
objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between
the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or
Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after October 16, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Haley Messer, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Southeast Region, Archaeologist, 694 Beech
Hill Lane, Hardeeville, SC 29927, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#573f363b322e083a32242432251731202479303821"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="96fef7faf3efc9fbf3e5e5f3e4d6f0e1e5b8f1f9e0">[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
USFWS, 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, three individuals have been
identified. A total of 39 associated funerary objects have been
identified.
The two individuals discovered in Limestone County, AL, (site
1LI47) were collected by the Limestone County Sheriff at an unknown
date prior to 1999 from the Wheeler NWR. The individuals were deemed
not modern based on age and condition. The first burial included
remains of one adult with sex indeterminate. The second burial included
remains of one adult male. A total of 18 associated funerary
[[Page 44700]]
objects were collected from 1LI47, and consist of 15 unidentified
sandstone fragments, two chert flakes, and one shell. The site dates to
the Late Archaic Period. No additional provenience information was
located.
The one individual discovered in Morgan Country, AL, (site 1MG2)
was collected by a staff member from the Wheeler NWR on December 2,
1985. The burial included one adult (35-50 years old) male. The
individual was deemed not modern based on age and condition. A total of
21 associated funerary objects were collected from 1MG2 and consist of
18 faunal fragments (including white-tailed deer, turtle, bird, and
unidentified mammal), one sand-tempered sherd, one chert biface, and
one chert flake. The site dates to Late Archaic/Gulf Formational,
Middle and Late Woodland Periods. No additional provenience information
was located.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available
about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in
this notice.
Determinations
The USFWS has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 39 objects described in this notice are reasonably
believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual
human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite
or ceremony.
<bullet> There is a connection between the human remains and
associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Poarch
Band of Creek Indians and The Chickasaw Nation.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human 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 human remains and associated funerary objects
described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after October
16, 2025. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the
USFWS must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to
repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and
associated funerary objects are considered a single request and not
competing requests. The USFWS 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: September 4, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-17875 Filed 9-15-25; 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 16, 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.