Notice2025-19964
Notice of Inventory Completion: West Virginia Department of Tourism, Charleston, WV
Primary source
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Published
November 17, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the West Virginia Department of Tourism has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 219 (Monday, November 17, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 219 (Monday, November 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 51399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-19964]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6571; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041195; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: West Virginia Department of
Tourism, Charleston, WV
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 West Virginia Department of Tourism has
completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there
is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes
or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or
after December 17, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
in this notice to Dr. Olivia Jones, West Virginia Department of
Tourism, Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex, 801 Jefferson
Avenue, P.O. Box 527, Moundsville, WV 25041, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#187774716e71793679367277767d6b586f6e367f776e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="107f7c796679713e713e7a7f7e75635067663e777f66">[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
West Virginia Department of Tourism, 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, one individual has been
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. At some time
prior to 1953, the human remains were acquired by geologist Mr. Noel
Moebs of Bruceton, Pennsylvania. According to Moebs, the human remains
were removed from a small mound near Ocala, Florida in Marion County by
students from the University of Florida. Moebs donated the human
remains to West Virginia University Department of Geology in 1953 which
donated them to the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey's
(WVGES) Section of Archaeology. The WVGES Section of Archaeology
collections are in the control of the West Virginia Archaeological
Research and Collections Management Facility of the West Virginia
Department of Tourism.
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 human remains described in this
notice.
Determinations
The West Virginia Department of Tourism has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> There is a connection between the human remains described
in this notice and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians; Seminole Tribe of
Florida; and The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains 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 described in this notice to a
requestor may occur on or after December 17, 2025. If competing
requests for repatriation are received, the West Virginia Department of
Tourism must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to
repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains are
considered a single request and not competing requests. The West
Virginia Department of Tourism 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 18, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-19964 Filed 11-14-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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