Notice2025-18572
Notice of Intended Repatriation: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
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 25, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) intends to repatriate a certain cultural item that meets the definition of an unassociated funerary object and that has a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 184 (Thursday, September 25, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 184 (Thursday, September 25, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 46247]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-18572]
[[Page 46247]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6556; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041145; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York, NY
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)
intends to repatriate a certain cultural item that meets the definition
of an unassociated funerary object and that has a cultural affiliation
with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural item in this notice may occur on or
after October 27, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural item in this notice to Jennifer Day, NAGPRA Coordinator &
Community Liaison, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue,
New York, NY 10028, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b8f2ddd6d6d1deddca96dcd9c1f8d5ddccd5cdcbddcdd596d7cadf"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b3f9d6dddddad5d6c19dd7d2caf3ded6c7dec6c0d6c6de9ddcc1d4">[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
Met, 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 one cultural item has been requested for repatriation.
The one unassociated funerary object is a dark gray stone Zoomorph.
Consultation with the Wiyot Tribe, California and museum records
indicate that the item was found in a burial site on Tuluwat Island,
the traditional homelands of the Wiyot people in Northern California,
and identify the Zoomorph as culturally affiliated with the Wiyot
Tribe. The item was donated to the museum by Nelson Rockefeller in
1979.
Determinations
The Met has determined that:
<bullet> The one unassociated funerary object described in this
notice is reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or
near human remains, and are connected, either at the time of death or
later as part of the death rite or ceremony of a Native American
culture according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a
lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. The
unassociated funerary object has been identified by a preponderance of
the evidence as related to human remains, specific individuals, or
families, or removed from a specific burial site or burial area of an
individual or individuals with cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe
or Native Hawaiian organization.
<bullet> There is a connection between the cultural item described
in this notice and the Wiyot Tribe, California.
Requests for Repatriation
Additional written requests for repatriation of the cultural item
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 item in this notice to a requestor may
occur on or after October 27, 2025. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, The Met must determine the most appropriate
requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the
cultural item are considered a single request and not competing
requests. The Met 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: September 11, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-18572 Filed 9-24-25; 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 25, 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.