Notice2026-00663
Notice of Inventory Completion: Mercyhurst University, Erie, PA
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 15, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Mercyhurst University 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 10 (Thursday, January 15, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 10 (Thursday, January 15, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1811-1812]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00663]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6855; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041833; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Mercyhurst University, Erie, PA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Mercyhurst University 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 17, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Anne Marjenin,
Mercyhurst University, 501 East 38th Street, Erie, PA 16546, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9cf2fdfbeceefddcf1f9eeffe5f4e9eeefe8b2f9f8e9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6f010e081f1d0e2f020a1d0c16071a1d1c1b410a0b1a">[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
Mercyhurst University, 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
Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The individual
(VM-033) was removed from the Baker Site in Sandusky County, Ohio,
likely in 1955. On an unknown date, the individual was obtained by
Raymond C. Vietzen (1907-1995). While there is no record regarding
potentially hazardous substances having been used to treat the human
remains, an unidentified adhesive is present. It is unknown when the
adhesive was applied.
Human remains representing, at least, two individuals have been
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The individuals
may have been removed from the Baker I Site in Sandusky County, Ohio,
likely in 1985 or 1988. On an unknown date, the individuals were
obtained by Raymond C. Vietzen (1907-1995). While there is no record
regarding potentially hazardous substances having been used to treat
the human remains, an unidentified adhesive is present. It is unknown
when the adhesive was applied.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been
identified. The three associated funerary objects are one lot
geological material, one lot lithics, and one lot unmodified faunal
remains. The individual and associated funerary objects may have been
removed from the Baker II or Greek Creek Site in Sandusky County, Ohio,
possibly in the mid to late 1980s or early 1990s. On an unknown date,
the individual was obtained by Raymond C. Vietzen (1907-1995). While
there is no record regarding potentially hazardous substances having
been used to treat the human remains, an unidentified adhesive is
present. It is unknown when the adhesive was applied.
Vietzen, an avocational archaeologist, collector, and author,
established the Indian Ridge Museum in Elyria, Ohio, and the
Archaeological Society of Ohio (formerly the Ohio Indian Relic
Collectors Society). The Indian Ridge Museum, founded in the 1930s,
served as Vietzen's laboratory and repository, and it remained in
operation until the mid-1990s. After Vietzen's death, the facility fell
into disrepair, and most of the items he had acquired and housed at the
museum were sold. In 1998, the Ohio Historical Society (presently the
Ohio History Connection) removed ancestral human remains and some of
the remaining items from the facility and temporarily housed them at
the Ohio Historical Society. In October of 2003, these remains were
transferred from the Ohio Historical Society to Mercyhurst College
(presently Mercyhurst University).
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical
location or acquisition history of the human remains and associated
funerary objects described in this notice.
Determinations
Mercyhurst University has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of four individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The three 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 Absentee-
Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Bad River Band of the Lake
Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation,
Wisconsin; Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan; Cayuga Nation;
Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana; Citizen
Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe
of Indians; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Forest County Potawatomi
Community, Wisconsin; Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa
Indians, Michigan; Hannahville Indian Community, Michigan; Kaw Nation,
Oklahoma; Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigan; Kickapoo Traditional
Tribe of Texas; Kickapoo Tribe of Indians of the Kickapoo Reservation
in Kansas; Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma; Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake
Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake
Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation of
Wisconsin; Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of
Michigan; Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Michigan; Little Shell
Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana; Little Traverse Bay Bands of
Odawa Indians, Michigan; Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi
Indians of Michigan; Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe,
Minnesota (Six component reservations: Bois Forte Band (Nett Lake);
Fond du Lac Band; Grand Portage Band; Leech Lake Band; Mille Lacs Band;
White Earth Band); Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, Michigan;
Omaha Tribe of Nebraska; Oneida Indian Nation; Oneida Nation; Onondaga
Nation; Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma; Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma;
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana; Ponca Tribe
of Indians of Oklahoma; Ponca Tribe of Nebraska; Prairie Band
Potawatomi Nation; Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of
Wisconsin; Red Lake Band of
[[Page 1812]]
Chippewa Indians, Minnesota; Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan;
Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe; Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians,
Michigan; Seneca Nation of Indians; Seneca-Cayuga Nation; Shawnee
Tribe; Sokaogon Chippewa Community, Wisconsin; St. Croix Chippewa
Indians of Wisconsin; Tonawanda Band of Seneca; Turtle Mountain Band of
Chippewa Indians of North Dakota; Tuscarora Nation; and the Wyandotte
Nation.
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
17, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received,
Mercyhurst University 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. Mercyhurst University 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 9, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-00663 Filed 1-14-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 15, 2026.
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