Notice2026-00055
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Defense, Division of Air Force, Tyndall Air Force Base, Port Saint Joe, FL
Primary source
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Published
January 7, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of Defense, Division of Air Force, Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB) has completed an inventory of associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 4 (Wednesday, January 7, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 7, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 521-522]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00055]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6824; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041685; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Defense,
Division of Air Force, Tyndall Air Force Base, Port Saint Joe, FL
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 U.S. Department of Defense, Division of
Air Force, Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB) has completed an inventory of
associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural
affiliation between the associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes
or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the associated funerary objects in this notice
may occur on or after February 6, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the associated
funerary objects in this notice to Jose Cintron, Tyndall AFB, 102
Checkertail Way, Building 36234, Port Saint Joe, FL 32403-5014, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a1cbced2c48fc2c8cfd5d3cecf8f90e1d4d28fc0c78fccc8cd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6903061a0c470a00071d1b06074758291c1a47080f47040005">[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
Tyndall AFB, 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
The 92 associated funerary objects are Santa Rosa/Swift Creek type
ceramics, Weeden Island type ceramics, Deptford type ceramics, faunal
bone, and ochre. These cultural items are reasonably believed to be
funerary objects associated with ancestors previously published in a
Notice of Inventory Completion in the Federal Register on February 28,
2024 (89 FR 14717) and a Notice of Intended Disposition (2017-0103).
The first set of associated funerary items are believed to be removed
from a mound near Davis Point Mound (either 8BY007 or 8BY009) on
Tyndall AFB. Additional funerary items from nearby cemetery sites--
Baker's Landing (8BY029) and Hare Hammock (8BY030/031)--were also part
of this holding and are reasonably believed to be associated as well.
The associated funerary items were presumably removed from federal
property by an anonymous individual prior to the construction of the
Pelican Point Golf Course sometime in the 1950s or 1960s and
transferred to Tyndall AFB from the National Park Service (NPS)
Southeast Archaeeological Center (SEAC) in July 2024. The second set of
associated funerary items were removed from the Hole 8 site (8BY165) by
Florida State University in 1979, transferred to NPS SEAC, and
subsequently transferred to Tyndall AFB.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available
about the associated funerary objects described in this notice.
Determinations
The Tyndall AFB has determined that:
<bullet> The 92 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 associated funerary
objects described in this notice and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians;
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; Poarch Band of Creek Indians;
Seminole Tribe of Florida; The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; The Muscogee
(Creek) Nation; The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; and the Thlopthlocco
Tribal Town.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the 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:
[[Page 522]]
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 associated funerary objects described in this
notice to a requestor may occur on or after February 6, 2026. If
competing requests for repatriation are received, the Tyndall AFB must
determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation.
Requests for joint repatriation of the associated funerary objects are
considered a single request and not competing requests. The Tyndall AFB
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: December 18, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-00055 Filed 1-6-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 7, 2026.
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