Notice2026-03559
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI
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 23, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Milwaukee Public Museum intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of 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 35 (Monday, February 23, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 35 (Monday, February 23, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Page 8509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03559]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6935; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042041; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Milwaukee Public Museum,
Milwaukee, 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 Milwaukee Public Museum intends to
repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of 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 March 25, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Dawn Scher Thomae, Milwaukee Public
Museum, 800 W Wells Street, Milwaukee, WI 53233, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b3c7dbdcded2d6f3dec3de9dd6d7c6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="baced2d5d7dbdffad7cad794dfdecf">[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
Milwaukee Public 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 four cultural items have been requested for
repatriation. The four objects of cultural patrimony are a wooden bow,
a powder horn, a wall basket, and a tin pipe. The bow and powder horn
were owned and used by Austin E. Quinney of Stockbridge, Wisconsin.
They were collected in Stockbridge at an unknown date by Clarence
Sheriff and were purchased by the Milwaukee Public Museum from Sheriff
in 1932. The wall basket was collected by Dr. Samuel A. Barrett, MPM
Curator of Anthropology from 1909-1921, during a museum funded
expedition to the Menominee Indian Reservation in August of 1910.
Basket identified as Stockbridge-Munsee. The tin pipe was collected in
Stockbridge, Wisconsin, at an unknown date by C. A. Tousey
(Stockbridge-Munsee) and was acquired by Henry H. Hayssen, a local
collector. It was purchased for the MPM collections from Hayssen in
1897.
The Milwaukee Public Museum has no specific information about the
above items being treated with pesticides or preservatives that may
represent a potential hazard. However, we do know that other items in
the collection, mainly clothing and textiles, were treated with
chemicals by our museum in the first part of the 20th century.
Determinations
The Milwaukee Public Museum has determined that:
<bullet> The four objects of cultural patrimony described in this
notice 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), according to the Native American traditional knowledge of
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 25, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the Milwaukee Public 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 Milwaukee Public 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: February 13, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-03559 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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