Notice2026-01672
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI
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 28, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Kalamazoo Valley Museum 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 18 (Wednesday, January 28, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 18 (Wednesday, January 28, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3732-3733]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-01672]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6886; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041884; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Kalamazoo Valley Museum,
Kalamazoo, MI
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 Kalamazoo Valley Museum 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 27, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Regina Gorham, Collections Manager for
the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, 230 N Rose Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49007,
email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b8cadfd7cad0d9d5f8d3cedbdb96dddccd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="80f2e7eff2e8e1edc0ebf6e3e3aee5e4f5">[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
Kalamazoo Valley Museum, 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 five cultural items have been requested for
repatriation. The five sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony are
baskets. The donor of the objects is the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts,
who received the baskets from Donald S. Gilmore. Donald S. Gilmore and
Genevieve Upjohn are members of two families that have for decades been
involved in businesses, arts and culture and more in Kalamazoo and the
surrounding area. Donald comes from the Gilmore Brother's Department
Store family, where he worked before joining his step-father at the
Upjohn Company (now Pfizer) in 1929. He and Genevieve married in 1916.
The pair spent much of their time and money in philanthropic pursuits
in Kalamazoo, donating money and time to a variety of institutions.
Their art collection makes up a large portion of the collection of the
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts having donated 2,400 pieces over the years.
Genevieve enjoyed painting and photography and the couple had a home at
Smoke Tree Ranch in Palm Springs, California where she photographed the
landscape. In the Museum's collection, other donation from the couple
including photos of themselves, and some furniture pieces made in
Japan.
Determinations
The Kalamazoo Valley Museum has determined that:
<bullet> The five 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 Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of the
Agua Caliente Indian Reservation, California.
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
[[Page 3733]]
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 27, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the Kalamazoo Valley Museum 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 Kalamazoo Valley Museum 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 15, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-01672 Filed 1-27-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 28, 2026.
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