Notice2026-05968
Notice of Inventory Completion: Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL
Primary source
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Published
March 27, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Illinois State Museum has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes in this notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 59 (Friday, March 27, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 59 (Friday, March 27, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14868-14869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05968]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7027; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042485; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Illinois State Museum,
Springfield, IL
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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[[Page 14869]]
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Illinois State Museum has completed an
inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural
affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or
after April 27, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
in this notice to Dr. Brooke M. Morgan, Illinois State Museum Research
& Collections Center, 1011 East Ash Street, Springfield, IL 62703,
email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0e6c7c6161656b2063617c696f604e676262676061677d20696178"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3d5f4f525256581350524f5a5c537d545151545352544e135a524b">[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
Illinois State Museum, and additional information on the determinations
in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in
its 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 minimum, 16 individuals have been
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The human
remains were removed from the Fisher Site (11WI5), Will County, IL, by
George Langford and by the University of Chicago on an unknown date
prior to 1941. They were part of the University of Chicago teaching
collection until 1948. They were then in private hands until 2007, when
they were donated to the Illinois State Museum. They were not
recognized as being from the Fisher site until a collections review in
2026. The human remains date to the Upper Mississippian period of site
occupation. No hazardous substances are known to have been used to
treat any of the human remains.
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 described in this notice.
Determinations
The Illinois State Museum has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of at least 16 individuals of Native American
ancestry.
<bullet> There is a connection between the human remains described
in this notice and the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Citizen
Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Forest
County Potawatomi Community, Wisconsin; Hannahville Indian Community,
Michigan; Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Iowa Tribe of Kansas and
Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas;
Kickapoo Tribe of Indians of the Kickapoo Reservation in Kansas;
Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma; Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of
Pottawatomi (previously listed as Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of
Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan); Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Fond du Lac Band; Mille Lacs Band);
Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, Michigan; Omaha Tribe of
Nebraska; Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma; Peoria Tribe of
Indians of Oklahoma; Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians, Michigan
and Indiana; Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation; Sac & Fox Nation of
Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox
Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa; Shawnee Tribe; and the Winnebago
Tribe of Nebraska.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains 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 identified in this notice.
2. Any lineal descendant or Indian Tribe not identified in this
notice who shows, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the
requestor is a lineal descendant or an Indian Tribe with cultural
affiliation.
Repatriation of the human remains described in this notice to a
requestor may occur on or after April 27, 2026. If competing requests
for repatriation are received, the Illinois State Museum must determine
the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for
joint repatriation of the human remains are considered a single request
and not competing requests. The Illinois State Museum is responsible
for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes identified in
this notice.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.
Dated: March 20, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-05968 Filed 3-26-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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