Notice2025-23348
Notice of Inventory Completion: The University of Tennessee, Department of Anthropology, Knoxville, TN
Primary source
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Published
December 19, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Department of Anthropology (UTK) 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 242 (Friday, December 19, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 242 (Friday, December 19, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59576-59577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23348]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6777; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041542; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: The University of Tennessee,
Department of Anthropology, Knoxville, TN
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 University of Tennessee, Knoxville,
Department of Anthropology (UTK) 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 20, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Dr. Ellen Lofaro,
University of Tennessee, Office of Repatriation, 5723 Middlebrook Pike,
Knoxville, TN 37996, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2a444b4d5a584b6a5f5e41044f4e5f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="066867617674674673726d28636273">[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 UTK,
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. This individual
was removed from the Curry Farm site (14GR301) between 1963 and 1964.
The Curry Farm site is located along the Verdigris River in Greenwood
County, KS and dates to the Middle Woodland Greenwood Phase (c. 120-600
CE), with unspecified earlier Archaic components. The site was
identified by the landowner in 1963, H.C. Curry, who exposed human
remains while digging on the property. Curry notified Tom Witty, Kansas
State Historical Society (KSHS), who led salvage excavations between
1963 and 1964. The individual housed at UTK was removed during these
salvage excavations and sent by Witty to William Bass for examination
in October of 1965 at University of Kansas (KU). Records indicate that
Bass likely retained this individual and brought them to UTK in 1971.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been
identified. The three lots of associated funerary objects are ceramics,
lithics, and other objects placed with or near human remains. This
individual and the associated funerary objects were likely removed from
unnamed archaeological site in Riley County, KS (14RY302) by a local
collector and donated to KSHS in 1961. The 14RY302 site is
multicomponent, and reports suggest these remains and objects likely
date to the Late Archaic component of the site (c. 1000 BCE). The
remains were sent to William Bass by Tom Witty for examination at KU in
1964. A note from Tom Witty, dated August 10th, 1961, was present with
the human remains and identified 14RY301, Strafuss, as the location the
human remains and objects were removed from. Review of records from
KSHS and UTK by KSHS staff indicates 14RY302 is the correct site
location. It is likely this individual and the associated objects were
retained by Bass and brought with him to UTK in 1971.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. This individual
was removed from an unknown location in Butler County, KS on an unknown
date. Records indicate this individual was sent to William Bass at KU
by the Butler County Sheriff for examination after they were
confiscated by law enforcement. Bass sent his determination to the
Butler County Sheriff in a memo dated July 29th, 1969. This individual
was likely retained by Bass and transported with him when he came to
UTK in 1971. A preservative was applied to some of the remains at some
point after Bass retained them.
Human remains representing, at least, two individuals, have been
identified. The three lots of associated funerary objects are ceramics,
lithics, and other objects placed with or near human remains. These
remains were removed from an unknown location in Morris County, KS on
an unknown date by an unknown individual. Based on patterns of past
practice, it is likely that these individuals were retained by Bass in
Kansas and brought with him to UTK in 1971.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual, have been
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. This individual
was removed from an unknown location in Kansas by an unknown individual
on an unknown date. UTK has no records related to this individual, but
based on past patterns of practice, it is likely they came to UTK
through Bass.
Information regarding the presence of potentially hazardous
substances has previously been shared with consulting parties.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available
about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in
this notice.
Determinations
UTK has determined that:
[[Page 59577]]
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of six individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The six lots of 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 Cheyenne
and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma; Kaw Nation, Oklahoma; Omaha Tribe of
Nebraska; Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; and the Prairie Band Potawatomi
Nation.
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
20, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, UTK 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. UTK 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: December 4, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-23348 Filed 12-18-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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