Notice2026-02706
Notice of Inventory Completion: Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
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
February 11, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program (OSA BP) 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 28 (Wednesday, February 11, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 28 (Wednesday, February 11, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6253-6254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-02706]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6927; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041986; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Office of the State
Archaeologist, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
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 Office of the State Archaeologist
Bioarchaeology Program (OSA BP) 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 March 13, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Dr. Lara Noldner,
Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program, University of
Iowa, 700 S Clinton Street, Iowa City, IA 52242, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2a464b584b074445464e444f586a5f43455d4b044f4e5f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d1bdb0a3b0fcbfbebdb5bfb4a391a4b8bea6b0ffb4b5a4">[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
[[Page 6254]]
sole responsibility of the OSA BP, 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 13 individuals have been
identified. The 20 associated funerary objects are one drill fragment,
13 flakes, and six faunal elements. The individuals and their burial
property were excavated in the spring and summer of 1954 by Jim Pilgrim
and Lowell S. Miller. The exact location of the excavation is unknown
but is believed to be in Clinton County, Iowa. The individuals and
artifacts were stored in the basement of Jim Pilgrim until his death in
2020; his daughter has been going through his belongings since and
transferring human remains and artifacts as she finds them. Pilgrim was
a prolific collector throughout Iowa, and his family has made multiple
transfers of his collection following his death. The individuals from
the 1954 excavation were transferred to the OSA in March of 2023. Of
the 13 individuals there is one adult male, six adults of unknown sex
and age, and six juveniles. The juveniles include one 0-5 month-old,
one 3-5 year-old, three 7-11 year-olds and one 10-15 year-old (BP3769).
No known hazardous substances were used to treat any of the human
remains or associated funerary objects.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical
location and acquisition history of the human remains and associated
funerary objects described in this notice.
Determinations
The OSA BP has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 13 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 20 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 Cheyenne
River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota;
Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma; Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of
South Dakota; Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Iowa Tribe of Kansas and
Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Lower Sioux Indian Community in the
State of Minnesota; Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Omaha Tribe of Nebraska;
Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma; Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma;
Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Ponca Tribe of Indians of
Oklahoma; Ponca Tribe of Nebraska; Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation;
Prairie Island Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; Sac & Fox
Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma;
Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa; Santee Sioux Nation,
Nebraska; Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation,
South Dakota; Spirit Lake Tribe, North Dakota; The Osage Nation; Three
Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; Upper
Sioux Community, Minnesota; Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska; and the
Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.
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 March 13,
2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the OSA BP
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 OSA BP 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: February 4, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-02706 Filed 2-10-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 11, 2026.
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