Notice2025-22878
Notice of Inventory Completion: Henry L Ferguson Museum, Fishers Island, NY
Primary source
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Published
December 16, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Henry L Ferguson Museum 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 239 (Tuesday, December 16, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 239 (Tuesday, December 16, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58289-58290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-22878]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6601; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041334; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Henry L Ferguson Museum, Fishers
Island, NY
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 Henry L Ferguson Museum 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 January 15, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Elizabeth McCance,
Henry L Ferguson Museum, P.O. Box 554, Fishers Island, NY 06390, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3a5f5759595b54595f7a5c5f485d4f495554574f495f4f571455485d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6500080606040b0600250300170210160a0b0810160010084b0a1702">[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
Henry L Ferguson Museum, 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 two associated funerary objects are one musket ball
(bullet) showing evidence of dental imprints and one paint pot.
Skeleton found in the 1920s or early 1930s when workers were widening
the road near the Fort Wright gate on Fishers Island, NY. With it were
found a fragment of a brass object, a limonite paint cup, and a lead
bullet. (Only the cranium and mandible, along with the lead bullet and
the paint cup, have been located in the Museum's collection.) There are
no associated hazardous substances. Cultural affiliation has been
reasonably identified with the Mashantucket Pequot Indian Nation, the
Narragansett Indian Tribe, and the Shinnecock Indian Tribe.
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 Henry L Ferguson Museum has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The two 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
Mashantucket Pequot Indian Tribe; Narragansett Indian Tribe; and the
Shinnecock Indian 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
[[Page 58290]]
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 January
15, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the
Henry L Ferguson Museum 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 Henry L Ferguson Museum 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: November 17, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-22878 Filed 12-15-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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