Notice2025-23005
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 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 240 (Wednesday, December 17, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58617-58618]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23005]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6660; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041397; 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 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 January 16, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
in this notice to Anne Marjenin, Mercyhurst University, 501 East 38th
Street, Erie, PA 16546, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6f010e081f1d0e2f020a1d0c16071a1d1c1b410a0b1a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e38d8284939182a38e8691809a8b96919097cd868796">[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, 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. On April 16,
1961, the individual (VM-071) was removed from Adairville Cave located
near the town of Adairville, Logan County, Kentucky. The individual was
removed by Raymond C. Vietzen (1907-1995). While there is no record
regarding potentially hazardous substances having been used to treat
the human remains, an unidentified adhesive is present. It is unknown
when the adhesive was applied. A residue, likely from tape, is also
present.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The individual
(KY-LO-TIN-0001) was removed from a rockshelter at ``Lost City'' in
Lewisburg, Logan County, Kentucky, by Raymond C. Vietzen (1907-1995).
The individual was likely removed in the late 1930s or the 1940s. While
there is no record regarding potentially hazardous substances having
been used to treat the human remains, an unidentified adhesive is
present. 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 described in this
notice.
Determinations
Mercyhurst University has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> There is a connection between the human remains 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; Miami 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 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.
[[Page 58618]]
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 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 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. 2025-23005 Filed 12-16-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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