Notice2026-00070
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Field Museum, Chicago, IL
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 7, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Field Museum intends to repatriate a certain cultural item that meets the definition of an unassociated funerary object and that has a cultural affiliation with the 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]
[Page 525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00070]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6840; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041701; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Field Museum, Chicago, IL
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 Field Museum intends to repatriate a
certain cultural item that meets the definition of an unassociated
funerary object and that has a cultural affiliation with the Indian
Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural item in this notice may occur on or
after February 6, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural item in this notice to June Carpenter, Field Museum, 1400 S
Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e28881839092878c968790a2848b878e868f979187978fcc8d9085"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5f353c3e2d2f3a312b3a2d1f39363a333b322a2c3a2a3271302d38">[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
Field Museum, 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 one cultural items has been requested for repatriation.
The one unassociated funerary object is a shell gorget. The associated
funerary object was excavated from Will County, Illinois at some time
prior to December 7, 1948. The University of Chicago's Department of
Anthropology donated the associated funerary object to the Field Museum
on December 7, 1948. Based on the information available and the results
of consultation, a relationship of shared group identity can be clearly
and reasonable traced between the cultural item and the Absentee-
Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Citizen Potawatomi Nation,
Oklahoma; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Forest County Potawatomi
Community, Wisconsin; Hannahville Indian Community, Michigan; Ho-Chunk
Nation of Wisconsin; Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of
Oklahoma; Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas; Kickapoo Tribe of
Indians of the Kickapoo Reservation in Kansas; Kickapoo Tribe of
Oklahoma; Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of
Michigan; Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota
(Fond du Lac Band; Mille Lacs Band); Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the
Potawatomi, Michigan; Omaha Tribe of Nebraska; Otoe-Missouria Tribe of
Indians, Oklahoma; Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Pokagon Band of
Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana; Prairie Band Potawatomi
Nation; Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox
Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa; Shawnee
Tribe; and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. There is no known presence
of any potentially hazardous substances.
Determinations
The Field Museum has determined that:
<bullet> The one unassociated funerary object described in this
notice is 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 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 item described
in this notice and the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma.
Requests for Repatriation
Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural item
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 item in this notice to a requestor may
occur on or after February 6, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the Field Museum must determine the most
appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint
repatriation of the cultural item are considered a single request and
not competing requests. The Field Museum 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: December 18, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-00070 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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