Notice2026-00861
Notice of Inventory Completion: Arizona State University, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Tempe, AZ
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 16, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Center for Archeology and Society Repository (acting in place of the Arizona State University School of Human Evolution and Social Change) 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 11 (Friday, January 16, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 11 (Friday, January 16, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2147-2148]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00861]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6870; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041860; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Arizona State University, School
of Human Evolution and Social Change, Tempe, 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 Center for Archeology and Society
Repository (acting in place of the Arizona State University School of
Human Evolution and Social Change) 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 Allisen Dahlstedt,
Arizona State University, School of Human Evolution and Social Change,
P.O. Box 872402, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1f5e7373766c7a71315b7e77736c6b7a7b6b5f7e6c6a317a7b6a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3d7c5151544e585313795c55514e495859497d5c4e4813585948">[email protected]</span></a>
and Christopher Caseldine, Arizona State University, School of Human
Evolution and Social Change, P.O. Box 872402, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402,
email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2d6e455f445e59425d45485f036e4c5e4841494443486d4c5e5803484958"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8dcee5ffe4fef9e2fde5e8ffa3ceecfee8e1e9e4e3e8cdecfef8a3e8e9f8">[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
Arizona State University (ASU) Center for Archaeology and Society
Repository (CASR), and additional information on the determinations in
this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the
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 six individuals have been
identified. The 38 associated funerary objects are nine lots of
ceramics, six lots of chipped stone, four lots of shell, nine lots of
faunal bone, four lots of samples, one lot of botanicals, one lot of
glass, three lots of other stone, and one lot of post/beam wood.
In the spring and fall semesters of 1972, human remains
representing, at minimum, six individuals were removed from the
Sce:dag[ibreve] Mu:val Va'aki site in Maricopa County, AZ during field
schools conducted by Wilburn A. Cockrell and Dr. Barbara Stark,
respectively. Archaeological evidence suggests the site was occupied
between A.D. 1150 and 1500, during the Hohokam Early to Late Classic
Periods. After these field seasons, the collection was curated by the
then Department of Anthropology, now School of Human Evolution and
Social Change, at ASU's Center for Archaeology and Society Repository
(CASR).
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available
about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in
this notice.
Determinations
The Arizona State University (ASU) Center for Archaeology and
Society Repository (CASR) has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of six individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 38 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 Ak-Chin
Indian Community; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian
Reservation, Arizona; Hopi Tribe
[[Page 2148]]
of Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River
Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona; and the Zuni
Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.
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
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after February 17, 2026.
If competing requests for repatriation are received, the ASU Center for
Archaeology and Society Repository 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 ASU Center for Archaeology and
Society Repository 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. 2026-00861 Filed 1-15-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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