Notice2025-18573
Notice of Inventory Completion: Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
Primary source
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Published
September 25, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (SNOMNH), has completed an inventory of associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the 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 184 (Thursday, September 25, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 184 (Thursday, September 25, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46237-46238]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-18573]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6543; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041131; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of
Natural History, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
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 Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural
History (SNOMNH), has completed an inventory of associated funerary
objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between
the associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian
organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the associated funerary objects in this notice
may occur on or after October 27, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the associated
funerary objects in this notice to Zachary Garrett, NAGPRA Program
Coordinator, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University
of Oklahoma, 2401 Chautauqua Avenue, Norman, OK 73072-7029, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6d170c0e0a0c1f1f0819192d021843080918"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="770d16141016050512030337180259121302">[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
SNOMNH, 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
A total of four associated funerary objects have been identified.
The four associated funerary objects are two lots of botanicals, and
two lots of ear spools. These objects are an addition to a group of
associated funerary objects previously published in a Notice of
Inventory Completion in the Federal Register on August 20, 2025 (90 FR
40640).
These associated funerary objects were removed from multiple burial
sites in Red River County-Texas, McCurtain County-Oklahoma, and other
parts of northeastern TX and southeastern OK. They were removed by
George T. Wright, a local landowner and collector. Wright targeted
burials and was specifically interested in Caddo ceramic
[[Page 46238]]
vessels. He worked most often in Red River and McCurtain Counties, and
dug at sites he knew in the area, including the Wright Plantation site
(41RR7) which he owned, and the Sam Kaufman/Coffman site (41RR16,
sometimes known as the Arnold Roitsch site), which was just a few miles
downstream along the Red River. The objects included in this notice
come from the Wright and Kaufman sites in Red River County, the Roden
(34MC215) and A.W. Davis (34MC6) sites in McCurtain County, and from
additional burial sites in southeastern Oklahoma and northeastern
Texas. They were likely removed sometime between 1900 and 1944. SNOMNH
acquired these associated funerary objects after Wright passed away in
1944.
The Kaufman site contained houses, mounds, and cemeteries and dates
to the McCurtain Phase (1300-1700 CE), including the Caddo II, Caddo
III, and Caddo IV periods. The Wright Plantation site was a multiple
mound site with both Mound Prairie Phase (~1100-1400 CE) and McCurtain
Phase (1300-1700 CE) occupations. The Roden site is a village and mound
site dating to around 1300-1700 CE. The A.W. Davis site dates to the
Caddo III period (1400-1500 CE).
To our knowledge, no potentially hazardous materials were used to
treat any of the associated funerary objects.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available
about the associated funerary objects described in this notice.
Determinations
SNOMNH has determined that:
<bullet> The four 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 associated funerary
objects described in this notice and the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the 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 associated funerary objects described in this
notice to a requestor may occur on or after October 27, 2025. If
competing requests for repatriation are received, SNOMNH must determine
the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for
joint repatriation of the associated funerary objects are considered a
single request and not competing requests. SNOMNH 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 11, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-18573 Filed 9-24-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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