Notice2026-00072
Notice of Intended Repatriation: U.S Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington, DC, and Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ
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 the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Northern Arizona University intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, and/or objects of cultural patrimony and that have 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]
[Pages 534-535]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00072]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6774; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041682; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: U.S Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington, DC, and Northern Arizona
University, Flagstaff, AZ
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 the Interior, Bureau
of Indian Affairs and Northern Arizona University intends to repatriate
certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated
funerary objects, sacred objects, and/or objects of cultural
[[Page 535]]
patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes
or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on
or after February 6, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Tamara Billie, U.S. Department of the
Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1001 Indian School Road NW, Mailbox
44, Albuquerque, NM 87104, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2155404c4053400f43484d4d4844614348400f464e57"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="95e1f4f8f4e7f4bbf7fcf9f9fcf0d5f7fcf4bbf2fae3">[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
U.S Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 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 two cultural items have been requested for repatriation.
The one unassociated funerary object is a Cibola White Ware, Escavada
Black-on-white, pottery pitcher. The pottery was transferred to
Northern Arizona University by a citizen who purchased it at an estate
sale in Lynchburg, Virginia. An associated note states that it came
from the Dean Kinto Trading Post in Manuelito, New Mexico, and
identified it as a ``burial jug, Anasazi.'' The note further states,
``This is a burial jug (never used) which was washed out of an Indian
grave and collected by a modern Indian to sell.'' Manuelito, New
Mexico, and nearby Chaco culture sites lie on Navajo Tribal Trust land.
There is no evidence or record of the presence of any potentially
hazardous substances used to treat this cultural item.
The one sacred object/object of cultural patrimony is a Navajo
wooden re-making doll or figurine. The item was removed from Site AZ D-
16-71 (NAU)/JUA 78.138 on Navajo Tribal Trust lands in 1978 by Northern
Arizona University archaeologists conducting a fence line survey for
the Navajo Hopi Joint Use Area, under contract to the Bureau of Indian
Affairs. There is no evidence or record of the presence of any
potentially hazardous substances used to treat this cultural item.
Determinations
The U.S Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 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 is 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> The one sacred object/object of cultural patrimony
described in this notice is, according to the Native American
traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization, specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional
Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice
traditional Native American religion, and have ongoing historical,
traditional, or cultural importance central to the Native American
group, including any constituent sub-group (such as a band, clan,
lineage, ceremonial society, or other subdivision).
<bullet> There is a connection between the cultural items described
in this notice and the Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah.
Requests for Repatriation
Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items
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 items in this notice to a requestor
may occur on or after February 6, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the U.S Department of the Interior, Bureau
of Indian Affairs must determine the most appropriate requestor prior
to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the cultural items
are considered a single request and not competing requests. The U.S
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 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. 2026-00072 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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