Notice2025-23161
Notice of Intended Repatriation: South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Primary source
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Published
December 18, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA) intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects and that have 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 241 (Thursday, December 18, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 241 (Thursday, December 18, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59167-59168]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23161]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6715; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041457; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: South Carolina Institute of
Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia,
SC
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 South Carolina Institute of Archaeology
and Anthropology (SCIAA) intends to repatriate certain cultural items
that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects and that have
a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian
organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on
or after January 20, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Nina Schreiner, South Carolina
Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, College of Arts and
Sciences, University of South Carolina, 1321 Pendleton Street,
Columbia, SC 29208, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3645555e44535f585876535b575f5a18455518535243"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a0d3c3c8d2c5c9cecee0c5cdc1c9cc8ed3c38ec5c4d5">[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
SCIAA, 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 five cultural items have been requested for
repatriation. From 1967 to 1969, four lots of unassociated funerary
objects were removed from sites 38OC1, 38PN2, 38PN4, and 38PN34 in
Oconee and Pickens counties, SC during the Keowee-Toxaway Reservoir
Survey conducted by SCIAA for Duke Power Company of Charlotte, NC. In
1984, one lot of unassociated funerary objects was removed from site
38OC186 in Oconee County, SC by Dr. Chester B. DePratter of SCIAA, Dr.
Mark Williams of the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, and Dr. Marvin
T. Smith of Garrow and Associates, Atlanta, GA. The expedition was
jointly funded by the LAMAR Institute of Watkinsville, GA and SCIAA.
The unassociated funerary objects are culturally affiliated with
Cherokee Nation, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and United
Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma. SCIAA is unaware of the
presence of any potentially hazardous substances used to treat any of
the cultural items.
Determinations
The SCIAA has determined that:
<bullet> The five unassociated funerary objects described in this
notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with
or near human remains, and are connected, either at the time of death
or later as part of the death rite or ceremony of a Native American
culture according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a
lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or
[[Page 59168]]
Native Hawaiian organization. The unassociated funerary objects have
been identified by a preponderance of the evidence as related to human
remains, specific individuals, or families, or removed from a specific
burial site or burial area of an individual or individuals with
cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization.
<bullet> There is a connection between the cultural items described
in this notice and the Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee
Indians; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
Requests for Repatriation
Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items
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 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 items in this notice to a requestor
may occur on or after January 20, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the SCIAA must determine the most
appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint
repatriation of the cultural items are considered a single request and
not competing requests. The SCIAA 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 25, 2025
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-23161 Filed 12-17-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 18, 2025.
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