Notice2026-00066

Notice of Inventory Completion: Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

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 Hood Museum of Art 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 533-534]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00066]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[N6835; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041696; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth 
College, Hanover, NH

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 Hood Museum of Art 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 Jami C. Powell, Hood Museum of Art, 
6 East Wheelock Street, Hanover, NH 03755, email 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#30585f5f541e7e717760627170545142445d5f4544581e555445"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="274f4848430969666077756667434655534a4852534f09424352">[email&#160;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 
Hood Museum of Art, 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

    An associated funerary object has been identified. The one 
associated funerary object is a lot of wampum beads. The beads entered 
the collection with an ancestor prior to 1913 from an unknown source. 
The associated ancestor was published in a notice of inventory 
completion in the Federal Register on May 2, 1996 (61 FR 19635). The 
beads are kept in a small box labeled as being from a ``Seminole Burial 
Ground'' in ``Oak Lodge,'' FL, which is consistent with the notations 
regarding the associated ancestor. After entering the Dartmouth College 
collection, the beads were separated from their ancestor. During the 
re-inventory process, the beads were re-located in the museum 
collection by Hood Museum of Art staff and identified as being 
associated with the ancestor from ``Oak Lodge.''
    Associated funerary objects have been identified. The 43 associated 
funerary objects are pottery sherds, shells, and limestone. The 
funerary objects entered the Dartmouth College collection with an 
ancestor from an unknown source in 1927. The associated ancestor was 
published in a notice of inventory completion in the Federal Register 
on May 14, 2025 (90 FR 20500). The objects are accompanied by tags 
noting their removal from Hernandez Mound in Ormond, FL, a known burial 
site. After entering the Dartmouth College collection, the funerary 
objects were separated from their associated ancestor and recently 
identified as being associated with the Ormond, FL ancestor.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural

[[Page 534]]

affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical location or 
acquisition history of the associated funerary objects described in 
this notice.

Determinations

    The Hood Museum of Art has determined that:
    <bullet> The 44 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; 
Poarch Band of Creek Indians; Seminole Tribe of Florida; The Muscogee 
(Creek) Nation; and The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.

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:
    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 Hood Museum of 
Art 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 Hood Museum of Art 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 18, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-00066 Filed 1-6-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P


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Indexed from Federal Register on January 7, 2026.

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