Notice2025-23011
Notice of Inventory Completion: Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Primary source
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Published
December 17, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program (OSA BP) 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]
[Page 58594]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23011]
[[Page 58594]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6666; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041405; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Office of the State
Archaeologist, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
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 Office of the State Archaeologist
Bioarchaeology Program (OSA BP) 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 Dr. Lara Noldner, Office of the State Archaeologist
Bioarchaeology Program, University of Iowa, 700 S Clinton Street, Iowa
City, IA 52242, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4824293a29652627242c262d3a083d21273f29662d2c3d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d4b8b5a6b5f9babbb8b0bab1a694a1bdbba3b5fab1b0a1">[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
OSA BP and additional information on the determinations in this notice,
including the results of consultation, can be found in the inventory or
related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the
determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
Based on the information available, human remains representing at
least nine individuals have been reasonably identified. No associated
funerary objects are present. These individuals were taken from what is
now the Sioux City area by Terry Feret and his cousin (now deceased) in
the 1970s. Feret took the human remains back to his residence in
Fairplay, CO where they were stored at his residence and then
transferred to History Colorado in Denver in 2020 when they were
discovered by individuals cleaning out his barn. History Colorado
arranged for the ancestors' transfer back to Iowa via the UI OSA in
January 2025. Based on information provided by the Park County Coroner
and Feret, the original burial location was determined and designated
13WD261 in the Iowa Site File in July 2025. Two adult females, two
adult males, one adult of unknown sex and four juveniles including a
neonate, a 1-2 year-old, a 3.5-4 year-old and an 8-10 year-old are
represented (BP3923). No hazardous substances have been used to treat
the human remains.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical
location and acquisition history of the human remains described in this
notice.
Determinations
The OSA BP has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of nine individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> There is a reasonable connection between the human remains
described in this notice and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the
Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe
of South Dakota; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Lower Sioux Indian Community
in the State of Minnesota; Prairie Island Indian Community in the State
of Minnesota; Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraska; Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of
the Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota; Spirit Lake Tribe, North
Dakota; Upper Sioux Community, Minnesota; and the Yankton Sioux Tribe
of South Dakota.
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.
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 a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization.
Repatriation of the human remains in this notice to a requestor may
occur on or after January 16, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the OSA BP 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. The OSA BP 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 24, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-23011 Filed 12-16-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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