Notice2025-23004
Notice of Inventory Completion: Mercyhurst University, Erie, PA
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 17, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Mercyhurst University 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 240 (Wednesday, December 17, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58618-58619]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23004]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6659; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041396; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Mercyhurst University, Erie, PA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Mercyhurst University 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 16, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Anne Marjenin,
Mercyhurst University, 501 East 38th Street, Erie, PA 16546, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#91fff0f6e1e3f0d1fcf4e3f2e8f9e4e3e2e5bff4f5e4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="214f4046515340614c4453425849545352550f444554">[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
Mercyhurst University, and additional information on the determinations
in this notice, including the results of consultation,
[[Page 58619]]
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. No associated funerary objects are present. The individual
was removed from Buzzard Cave likely located on the Glover Farm, also
referred to as the Glover Site, in Christian County, Kentucky. The
individual was removed by Raymond C. Vietzen (1907-1995), likely in
1962. While there is no record regarding potentially hazardous
substances having been used to treat the human remains, tape and an
unidentified adhesive are present. It is unknown when the tape and
adhesive were applied.
Human remains representing, at least, two individuals have been
identified. The five associated funerary objects are modified faunal
remains and unmodified faunal remains. The individuals and associated
funerary objects were removed from Dry Cave located on the Glover Farm,
also referred to as the Glover Site, in Christian County, Kentucky. The
individuals and associated funerary objects were removed by Raymond C.
Vietzen (1907-1995), likely in the 1950s, probably 1953 and 1955. While
there is no record regarding potentially hazardous substances having
been used to treat the human remains and associated funerary objects,
an unidentified adhesive is present. It is unknown when the adhesive
was applied.
Human remains representing, at least, 14 individuals have been
identified. The 14 associated funerary objects are a lithic, modified
faunal remains, possible shell, shell, and unmodified faunal remains.
The individuals and associated funerary objects were removed from
Glover's Cave located on the Glover Farm, also referred to as the
Glover Site, in Christian County, Kentucky, by Raymond C. Vietzen
(1907-1995), likely between approximately 1941 and the mid-1960s. While
there is no record regarding potentially hazardous substances having
been used to treat the human remains, unidentified adhesives, an
unidentified plaster or similar type of substance, and an unidentified
preservative coating, consolidant, or sealant are present. An
unidentified adhesive was used to attach a small piece of fabric to
some of the human remains. It is unknown when these materials and
substances were applied. A residue, likely from tape, is present on
some of the human remains. An unidentified adhesive was applied to some
of the associated funerary objects. It is unknown when the adhesive was
applied.
Vietzen, an avocational archaeologist, collector, and author,
established the Indian Ridge Museum in Elyria, Ohio, and the
Archaeological Society of Ohio (formerly the Ohio Indian Relic
Collectors Society). The Indian Ridge Museum, founded in the 1930s,
served as Vietzen's laboratory and repository, and it remained in
operation until the mid-1990s. After Vietzen's death, the facility fell
into disrepair, and most of the items he had acquired and housed at the
museum were sold. In 1998, the Ohio Historical Society (presently the
Ohio History Connection) removed ancestral human remains and some of
the remaining items from the facility and temporarily housed them at
the Ohio Historical Society. In October of 2003, these remains were
transferred from the Ohio Historical Society to Mercyhurst College
(presently Mercyhurst University).
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
Mercyhurst University has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 17 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 19 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 Absentee-
Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of
Cherokee Indians; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Shawnee Tribe; The
Osage Nation; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in
Oklahoma.
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
16, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received,
Mercyhurst University 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. Mercyhurst University 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 21, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-23004 Filed 12-16-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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