Notice2025-22922
Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Alabama Museums, Tuscaloosa, 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
December 16, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of Alabama Museums 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]
[Page 58290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-22922]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6646; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041380; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Alabama Museums,
Tuscaloosa, 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 Museums 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 Dr. William Bomar,
Executive Director, University of Alabama Museums, Box 870340,
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3a585855575b487a4f5b145f5e4f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="81e3e3eeece0f3c1f4e0afe4e5f4">[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 Museums, 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, 11 individuals have been
identified. The three lots of associated funerary objects are ceramic
sherds, lithics, shell, shell beads, and faunal bone. Severe storms and
flooding in Alabama resulted in a Presidentially declared major
disaster on May 21, 2020, with an incident period from February 5,
2020, through March 6, 2020. Moundville Archaeological Park was
affected by the storms and the University of Alabama requested funding
from FEMA to repair slope damage to Mound U. The slope on Mound U,
along the Black Warrior River, slid exposing human remains due to
saturation of soil by heavy rain that occurred from February to March
2020. The exposed human remains were recovered from the surface on
March 4, 2020, and August 5, 2020, and taken to the Erskine Ramsey
Repository where they are currently housed.
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 Museums has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 11 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The three lots of associated funerary 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-
Quassarte Tribal Town; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Mississippi Band
of Choctaw Indians; Seminole Tribe of Florida; The Chickasaw Nation;
The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; and The
Seminole Nation of Oklahoma with letters of support from the Alabama-
Coushatta Tribe of Texas and the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians.
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 January
15, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the
University of Alabama Museums 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 Museums
is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes
and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.
Dated: November 20, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-22922 Filed 12-15-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 16, 2025.
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