Notice2026-02707
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley, MA
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 Mount Holyoke College Art Museum intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects 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 28 (Wednesday, February 11, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 28 (Wednesday, February 11, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6250-6251]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-02707]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6914; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041987; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Mount Holyoke College Art
Museum, South Hadley, MA
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 Mount Holyoke College Art Museum intends
to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of
unassociated funerary objects 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 March 13, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Abigail Hoover, Associate Director of
Registration and Collections, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, Lower
Lake Road, South Hadley, MA 01075, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bbdad3d4d4cddec9fbd6cfd3d4d7c2d4d0de95dedfce"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c7a6afa8a8b1a2b587aab3afa8abbea8aca2e9a2a3b2">[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
Mount Holyoke College Art 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.
[[Page 6251]]
Abstract of Information Available
A total of six cultural items have been claimed for repatriation.
The six unassociated funerary objects are one adze, one pipe, one lot
of beads, one lot of iron ore, one pipe, and one pipe bowl. The basalt
adze was ``found on an Indian grave on bank of the Connecticut River at
Chicopee'' and was donated to the Art Museum by Mrs. T. Chapin. The
slate tobacco pipe is recorded as ``found in a grave at Holyoke'' and
was given to the Museum by Mr. Joseph E. Chase. The one lot of beads
are two strings of beads are recorded as ``found on a grave at Depot
Hill, Holyoke, MA'' and were given to the Museum by Mr. Joseph E.
Chase. They were later documented on a 1970 packing list, therefore
they were acquired prior to 1970. The one lot of iron ore are two
pieces of iron ore ``from a grave on Depot Hill, Holyoke, MA'' were
given to the Museum by Mr. Joseph E. Chase. One piece of ore has a
paper tag that reads ``Jos. E. Chase.'' The steatite (soapstone) pipe
and pipe bowl are part of the Joseph Allen Skinner Museum collection,
which is owned by the Trustees of Mount Holyoke College and overseen by
the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. This collection of 7,300 objects
was amassed by the Museum's namesake (1862-1946) over a lifetime and
displayed in his Museum in South Hadley, MA from its founding in 1932.
Records indicate that the pipe and the pipe bowl were removed from
their original locations in Springfield, Massachusetts. The pipe has a
paper tag that reads ``19 Long Hill.''
Determinations
The Mount Holyoke College Art Museum has determined that:
<bullet> The six 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> There is a connection between the cultural items described
in this notice and the Stockbridge Munsee Community, Wisconsin.
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 March 13, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the Mount Holyoke College Art 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 Mount Holyoke College
Art Museum is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the
Indian Tribes and/or 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: February 4, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-02707 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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