Notice2026-03554
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Beloit College, Logan Museum of Anthropology, Beloit, WI
Primary source
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Published
February 23, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Beloit College, Logan Museum of Anthropology (LMA) intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of sacred 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 35 (Monday, February 23, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 35 (Monday, February 23, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8506-8507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03554]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6930; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042036; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Beloit College, Logan Museum of
Anthropology, Beloit, WI
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 Beloit College, Logan Museum of
Anthropology (LMA) intends to repatriate certain cultural items that
meet the definition of sacred 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 25, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Nicolette B. Meister, Beloit College,
Logan Museum of Anthropology, 700 College Street, Beloit, WI 53511,
email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b3ded6dac0c7d6c1ddf3d1d6dfdcdac79dd6d7c6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="96fbf3ffe5e2f3e4f8d6f4f3faf9ffe2b8f3f2e3">[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
LMA, 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 two cultural items have been requested for repatriation.
The two sacred objects are a feather box (5384) and crocheted leggings
(5380). The objects were collected in the Pueblo of Santa Ana, New
Mexico by Dr. Florence Hawley Ellis in 1968 and sold to Dr. Andrew
Whiteford, Director of the LMA, the same year. Between the 1950s and
1970s, Dr. Ellis worked extensively with the Pueblo of Santa Ana on
land claims and water rights and collected hours of oral history
recordings archived at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Ellis had
first-hand knowledge of Pueblo of Santa Ana traditional cultural
conservatism. Correspondence between Dr. Ellis and Dr. Whiteford on
file at the LMA reveals that Dr. Ellis was aware that the objects were
ceremonial and part of ongoing religious traditions. The LMA has no
record of treating the cultural items with potentially hazardous
substances.
Determinations
The LMA has determined that:
<bullet> The two sacred objects described in this notice are
specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional Native American
religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional
Native American religion, according to the Native American traditional
knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian
organization.
<bullet> There is a connection between the cultural items described
in this notice and the Pueblo of Santa Ana, 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 March 25, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the LMA 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 LMA 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,
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U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.
Dated: February 13, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-03554 Filed 2-20-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 23, 2026.
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