Notice2025-20105
Notice of Inventory Completion: The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, 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
November 18, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of Alabama at Birmingham 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
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 220 (Tuesday, November 18, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 18, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51790-51791]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-20105]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6587; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041296; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: The University of Alabama at
Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
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 University of Alabama at Birmingham 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 December 18, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Dr. Lauren Downs, the
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Anthropology, UH
3165 1720 2nd Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#88e6e9eff8fae9fbfce9eeeec8fde9eaa6edecfd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9ef0fff9eeecffedeafff8f8deebfffcb0fbfaeb">[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
University of Alabama at Birmingham, 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 have been
identified. The 27 associated funerary objects are 12 pottery sherds,
11 chert lithic flakes, two flint projectile points, one chert lithic
blade, and one gastropod shell. Site 1Ms471 is located in Marshall
County, AL, near Paint Rock River. It included a village/camp area and
five stone-covered mounds/graves. The site was excavated by Edward C.
Mahan in 1956 prior to its destruction by the site owner. Mr. Mahan
donated his site collection to the Department of Anthropology, the
University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1981. The site was originally
named ``1Ms\v\5'' by Mr. Mahan, but that is considered to be a synonym
for 1Ms471. Internal site records describe the ancestor and associated
belongings as a ``bundle burial,'' which was removed from an area
adjacent to a mound at the site. Site use dates to the Paleoindian and
Woodland periods. It is likely that the burial removed from the site
dates to the Middle-Late Woodland Period (A.D. 1-1000) and perhaps to
the Copena Culture of the Middle Woodland (A.D. 1-500). There is no
record of potentially hazardous substances being used to treat the
ancestor or associated belongings.
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 and associated
funerary objects described in this notice.
Determinations
The University of Alabama at Birmingham has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 27 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 Alabama-
Coushatta Tribe of Texas; Poarch Band of Creek Indians; Seminole Tribe
of Florida; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; and the Thlopthlocco Tribal
Town.
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 December
18, 2025. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the
University of Alabama at Birmingham 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 University of Alabama at
Birmingham 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
[[Page 51791]]
U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.
Dated: September 30, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-20105 Filed 11-17-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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