Notice2025-23372
Notice of Inventory Completion: Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY
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 Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) 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]
[Page 59572]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23372]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6793; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041564; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Rochester Museum & Science
Center, Rochester, NY
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 Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC)
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 Elizabeth Alecki,
Rochester Museum & Science Center, 657 East Avenue, Rochester, NY
14607, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5237333e3731393b12203f21317c3d2035"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9bfefaf7fef8f0f2dbe9f6e8f8b5f4e9fc">[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
Rochester Museum & Science Center, 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, four individuals have been
identified.
Human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals were
removed from the Bell-Philhower Site in Sussex County, NJ, by William
A. Ritchie through RMSC excavation in July or August 1947. No known
individuals were identified. The 4,146 associated funerary objects are
3,229 pottery sherds, 672 stone tools, 144 projectile points, 36 canine
bones, 18 bone tools, 12 pots, 13 pipe fragments, seven turtle carapace
fragments, two bear canines, two conches, one gorget fragment, one iron
tool, one pipe, one portion of comb top, one piece of quartz, one
spangle, one steatite dish portion, one strike-a-light, one piece of
carbonized antler fragment, one piece of carbonized glass, one piece of
charcoal. Of the 4,146 objects, 22 pottery sherds, three stone tools,
six projectile points, one bone tool, and one pipe fragment are
considered missing.
Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed
from the Davenport Site in Sussex County, NJ, by William A. Ritchie
through Rochester Museum excavation at an unknown date. No known
individuals were identified. The 89 associated funerary objects are 58
pottery sherds, 25 stone tools, three projectile points, two bone
tools, and one piece of charred wood.
There is no record of the human remains or associated funerary
objects being treated with pesticides, preservatives, or other
substances that represent a potential hazard to the object(s) or to
person(s) handling the object(s).
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the geographic location
or acquisition history of the human remains and associated funerary
objects described in this notice.
Determinations
The RMSC has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of four individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 4,235 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 Delaware
Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of Indians; and the Stockbridge Munsee
Community, Wisconsin.
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, the
Rochester Museum & Science Center 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. The RMSC 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 8, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-23372 Filed 12-18-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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