Notice2026-05300
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Whitman College, Maxey Museum, Walla Walla, WA
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
March 18, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Whitman College, Maxey Museum (WCMM) 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
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 52 (Wednesday, March 18, 2026)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 52 (Wednesday, March 18, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Page 13063]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05300]
[[Page 13063]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7008; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042363; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Whitman College, Maxey Museum,
Walla Walla, WA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Whitman College, Maxey Museum (WCMM)
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 April 17, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Jeanine Gordon, Special Assistant to
the President for Native American Outreach, Whitman College, 345 Boyer
Avenue, Walla Walla, WA 99362, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a4c3cbd6c0cbcacee4d3cccdd0c9c5ca8ac1c0d1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="086f677a6c676662487f60617c656966266d6c7d">[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
WCMM, 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 19 cultural items have been requested for repatriation.
The 12 unassociated funerary objects are copper bracelets. The seven
sacred objects are two fan -shaped boards, a rectangular robe, a cedar
stick with animals carved at each end, a bone hackler, a stone chisel,
and a model of a baby and board.
All objects were donated by Mrs. Sarah Eels in 1907. They all date
to pre-1900 and come from the Northwest Coast. The copper bracelets
[WHIT-E-0406] were found in Sequim, Washington. The fan-shaped boards
[WHIT-E-0194] have an accession record that dates them to 1751. The
rectangular robe [WHIT-E-0496] was acquired around 1880 in Jamestown
and exhibited by the State of Washington World's Fair Commission in
1893. The cedar stick [WHIT-E-0177] was Makah made but traded to
Jamestown S'Klallam and used in tamanowas ceremonies. The stone chisel
[WHIT-E-0266] is possibly pre-contact. The bone hackler [WHIT-E-0302]
was found at Dungeness among the S'Klallam in 1896. The model baby and
board [WHIT-E-0147] also has a tag stating it was exhibited in the 1893
World's Fair; the tag states it was obtained at Jamestown in 1896 from
the S'Klallam but made by the Makah.
Determinations
The WCMM has determined that:
<bullet> The 12 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> The seven 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 Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe.
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 April 17, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the WCMM 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 WCMM 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: March 11, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-05300 Filed 3-17-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 18, 2026.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.