Notice2026-00862
Notice of Intended Repatriation: 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 Archaeology and Society Repository (acting in place of the Arizona State University School of Human Evolution and Social Change) 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 11 (Friday, January 16, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 11 (Friday, January 16, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2144-2145]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00862]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6871; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041861; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: 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 Archaeology and Society
Repository (acting in place of the Arizona State University School of
Human Evolution and Social Change) 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.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on
or after February 17, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items 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#2f6e4343465c4a41016b4e47435c5b4a4b5b6f4e5c5a014a4b5a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="07466b6b6e7462692943666f6b74736263734766747229626372">[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#43002b312a30372c332b26316d002230262f272a2d26032230366d262736"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c98aa1bba0babda6b9a1acbbe78aa8baaca5ada0a7ac89a8babce7acadbc">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published as part of the
National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA.
The
[[Page 2145]]
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
summary or related records. The National Park Service is not
responsible for the determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
A total of 277 cultural items have been requested for repatriation.
The 73 unassociated funerary objects are four lots of faunal bone,
one lot of botanicals, eight lots of ceramics, two lots of chipped
stone, two lots of ground stone, one lot of historic artifacts, five
lots of other stone, and 50 lots of shell.
The 204 sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony are nine lots
of faunal bone, one lot of botanicals, seven lots of ceramics, two lots
of chipped stone, 19 lots of ground stone, 12 lots of other stone, and
154 lots of shell.
The cultural items were removed from the Sce:dagi Mu:val Vaaki site
in Maricopa County, AZ in the spring and fall semesters of 1955 and the
spring and fall semesters of 1972, during the course of field schools
led by Kenneth Stewart. Wilburn Cockrell, and Barbara Stark,
respectively. After the field seasons, the collection was curated by
what was then the Department of Anthropology, now the School of Human
Evolution and Social Change, at ASU's Center for Archaeology and
Society Repository.
Determinations
The Arizona State University (ASU) Center for Archaeology and
Society Repository (CASR) has determined that:
<bullet> The 73 unassociated funerary objects described in this
notice are 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> The 204 sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony
described in this notice are, 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 Ak-Chin Indian Community; Gila River Indian
Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Hopi Tribe 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
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 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 cultural items 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 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: January 9, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-00862 Filed 1-15-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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