Notice2026-05380
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI
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 19, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Kalamazoo Valley Museum intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of sacred objects/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 53 (Thursday, March 19, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 53 (Thursday, March 19, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13328-13329]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05380]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7001; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042355; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Kalamazoo Valley Museum,
Kalamazoo, MI
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 Kalamazoo Valley Museum intends to
repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of sacred
objects/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 20, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Regina Gorham, Collections Manager for
the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, 230 N Rose Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49007,
email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4032272f3228212d002b3623236e252435"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4537222a372d2428052e3326266b202130">[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
Kalamazoo Valley 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 one lot of cultural items have been requested for
repatriation. The one lot of sacred objects/objects of cultural
patrimony are baskets. The donor of the objects is the Kalamazoo
Institute of Arts, who received the baskets from Donald S. Gilmore.
Donald S. Gilmore and Genevieve Upjohn are members of two families that
have for decades been involved in businesses, arts and culture and more
in Kalamazoo and the surrounding area. Donald comes from the Gilmore
Brother's Department Store family, where he worked before joining his
step-father at the Upjohn Company (now Pfizer) in 1929. He and
Genevieve married in 1916. The pair spent much of their time and money
in philanthropic pursuits in Kalamazoo, donating money and time to a
variety of
[[Page 13329]]
institutions. Their art collection makes up a large portion of the
collection of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts having donated 2,400
pieces over the years. Genevieve enjoyed painting and photography and
the couple had a home at Smoke Tree Ranch in Palm Springs, California
where she photographed the landscape. In the Museum's collection, other
donation from the couple including photos of themselves, and some
furniture pieces made in Japan.
Determinations
The Kalamazoo Valley Museum has determined that:
<bullet> The one lot of 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 Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of the
Agua Caliente Indian Reservation, California.
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 20, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the Kalamazoo Valley 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 Kalamazoo Valley 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: March 11, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-05380 Filed 3-18-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 19, 2026.
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