Notice2026-05301
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Mountain-Prairie Region, Denver, CO
Primary source
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Published
March 18, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Mountain-Prairie Region 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 52 (Wednesday, March 18, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 52 (Wednesday, March 18, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13052-13053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05301]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7015; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042370; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior,
Fish and Wildlife Service, Mountain-Prairie Region, Denver, CO
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 U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Mountain-Prairie Region 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 April 17, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Jennifer Kolise, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 25486, Denver Federal Center,
Denver, CO 80225, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8fe5eae1e1e6e9eafdd0e4e0e3e6fceacfe9f8fca1e8e0f9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e288878c8c8b848790bd898d8e8b9187a2849591cc858d94">[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
USFWS, Mountain-Prairie Region, and additional information on the
determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation,
can be found in its
[[Page 13053]]
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, three individuals have been
identified. At least 188 associated funerary objects have been
identified, including: 15 glass trade beads, around six glass beads,
three copper bracelets, approximately 85 copper beads, three cupric
rings, 68 dentalium shells, one soil sample in a separate plastic bag,
and remnants of one textile-most likely a shirt or jacket-containing at
least six metal or glass beads.
Based on available documentation, the individuals and their
belongings were discovered in May 1980 in a coulee on the USFWS Charles
M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Fort Peck, MT. No
additional provenience information is known. The individuals and their
belongings were sent by the USFWS to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) Laboratory in Glasgow, MT for examination, which
occurred in August 1980. The individuals and their belongings were then
sent to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural
History (NMNH) in Washington, DC for unknown reasons, and were returned
to the Charles M. Russell NWR in 2025.
The ancestors and their belongings were not treated with hazardous
substances to the best of USFWS and NMNH knowledge.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available
about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in
this notice.
Determinations
The USFWS, Mountain-Prairie Region has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 188 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
Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation,
Montana.
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 April 17,
2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the USFWS,
Mountain-Prairie Region 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 USFWS, Mountain-Prairie Region 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: March 11, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-05301 Filed 3-17-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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