Notice2026-00462
Notice of Inventory Completion: Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Alburquerque, NM
Primary source
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Published
January 13, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico (UNM) 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 91 Issue 8 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1332-1333]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00462]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6841; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041748; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Maxwell Museum of Anthropology,
University of New Mexico, Alburquerque, NM
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 Maxwell Museum of Anthropology,
University of New Mexico (UNM) 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 February 12, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Ash Boydston-Schmidt,
Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, MSC01-1050, 1 University of New Mexico,
Albuquerque, NM 87131, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bedfcdd6dcd1c7dacdcad1d0fecbd0d390dbdacb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1475677c767b6d7067607b7a54617a793a717061">[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
Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, and
additional information on the determinations in this notice, including
the results of
[[Page 1333]]
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 399 individuals have been
identified. The 539 associated funerary objects include non-human bone,
modified non-human bone, ceramics, sherds, botanicals, organics,
modified antler, matting, cordage, tools, mineral-stone, beads, shells,
projectile points, flaked stone, clay, adobe, sediment-soil, pollen,
and charcoal. UNM first conducted excavations at the site known as
Pottery Mound in 1954, when the land was owned by the Huning family.
The family donated the site to UNM in 1978 and additional excavations
took place from 1979 through the 1980's. The Pueblo of Isleta
eventually purchased the rest of the Huning Ranch, making the site a
nine-acre island in the middle of Pueblo property. In 2012, following
consultations between the Maxwell Museum and the Pueblo, the UNM Board
of Regents voted to deed the site of Pottery Mound to the Pueblo of
Isleta. In addition to the excavations that UNM conducted, there have
been several donations of looted ancestral human remains and associated
funerary objects to The Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at UNM that were
taken from Pottery Mound while the site was privately owned.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by geographical location,
archaeological information, biological information, oral histories, and
the acquisition history of the human remains and associated funerary
objects described in this notice.
Determinations
The Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico has
determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of at least 399 individuals of Native American
ancestry.
<bullet> The 539 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 Pueblo of
Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New
Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico;
Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo
of Zia, New Mexico; and the Santo Domingo Pueblo.
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 February
12, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the
Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, 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 Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico,
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: January 5, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-00462 Filed 1-12-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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