Notice2025-23037
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Ball State University, Muncie, IN
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), the Ball State University intends to repatriate a certain cultural item that meets the definition of an object of cultural patrimony and that has a cultural affiliation with the 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 58573-58574]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23037]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6685; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041425; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Ball State University, Muncie,
IN
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 Ball State University intends to
repatriate a certain cultural item that meets the definition of an
object of cultural patrimony and that has a cultural affiliation with
the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural item in this notice may occur on or
after January 16, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural item in this notice to Chyan Gilaspy, Ball State University,
Applied Anthropology Laboratories, 2000 W Riverside Avenue, Muncie, IN
47306, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e5aba4a2b5b7a4a5879690cb808190"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c987888e999b8889abbabce7acadbc">[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
Ball State University and additional information on the determinations
in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in
the summary or related records. The National Park Service is not
responsible for the determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation.
The one object of cultural patrimony is a beaded girl's dress. In 2018,
the dress was bequeathed to BSU by a private donor who purchased the
item in 1979 in South Dakota. A non-BSU tag found on the dress states,
``Girl's Dress, Shoshone Tribe, Idaho, 1960''. There are no
institutional records indicating the use of potentially hazardous
substances used to treat this cultural item, however, requested XRF
testing was positive for potentially hazardous substances.
Determinations
The Ball State University has determined that:
<bullet> The one object of cultural patrimony described in this
notice have ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance
central to the Native American group, including any constituent sub-
group (such as a band, clan, lineage, ceremonial society, or other
subdivision), according to the Native American traditional knowledge of
an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
<bullet> There is a connection between the cultural item described
in this notice and the Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon Reservation
and Colony, Nevada.
Requests for Repatriation
Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural item
in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified
in this notice under ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be
submitted by any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian
organization not identified in this notice who shows, by
[[Page 58574]]
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 cultural item in this notice to a requestor may
occur on or after January 16, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the Ball State University must determine the
most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint
repatriation of the cultural item are considered a single request and
not competing requests. The Ball State University is responsible for
sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations identified in this notice and to any other consulting
parties.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.
Dated: November 24, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-23037 Filed 12-16-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 17, 2025.
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