Notice2026-05970
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
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 27, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Denver Art Museum intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of sacred objects 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 59 (Friday, March 27, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 59 (Friday, March 27, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14872-14873]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05970]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7017; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042475; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Denver Art Museum, 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 Denver Art Museum intends to repatriate
certain cultural items that meet the definition of sacred objects 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 27, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Jennifer (Jennie) Trujillo, Denver Art
Museum, 100 W 14th Avenue Parkway, Denver, CO 80204, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#670d1315120d0e0b0b08270302091102150615130a121402120a49081500"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0e647a7c7b64676262614e6a6b60786b7c6f7c7a637b7d6b7b6320617c69">[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
Denver Art 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 18 cultural items have been requested for repatriation.
The 18 sacred objects are two [revaps]umeke l[amacr][revaps]au (wood
bowls), 10 kapa, one pahu (drum), two stone tools, one lei hulu
(feather lei), one Lei niho palaoa (pendant necklace) and one moena
(mat).
One wood bowl was acquired about 1899 from Mrs. A.C. Cass of
Colorado, who then gifted it to the museum. The second bowl was
purchased by the museum in 1948 from Altman Antiques in Los Angeles,
California. Museum records have no additional information for either
bowl. Five of the kapa came to the Denver Art Museum via an exchange
with the British Museum in 1949. Oceanic works exchanged in 1949 with
British Museum were taken from pool designated ``duplicates
collection'' used for exchanges and was an unregistered group with no
catalogue records or detailed listings. Documentation provided has
minimal provenance information. Consultation has confirmed their
cultural affiliation with Hawaii. One kapa and the moena mat were gifts
to the museum in 1942 from Mrs. Helen Stanford Canfield of Estes Park,
Colorado. The kapa and moena mat were given to Mrs. Canfield's mother,
Mrs. Josiah W. Stanford in Hawaii in 1898 by Mrs.
Irene[revaps][Imacr][revaps][imacr] Holloway, a friend of Queen
Lili[revaps]uokalani.
Two other kapa, the pahu, and the lei hulu were purchased by the
museum from art dealer Julius Carlebach in 1949. There is no additional
information about the kapa. The pahu is from the Fred Harvey collection
that was exhibited at the San Francisco Fair in 1915. The lei hulu is
said to have been acquired by an unnamed whaling family around 1800 and
was brought to New Bedford Massachusetts in 1860. The lei hulu has
tested positive for lead. One kapa was a gift from Mrs. Garetta Stoever
of La Jolla, California. It was collected by Mrs. Stoever's father-in-
law, Dr. Henry von H. Stoever, in Hawaii in the 1890's. The final kapa
was acquired by exchange in 1959 from the University of Pennsylvania
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. There is no further provenance
information in the DAM's records. The stone tools, a ko[revaps]i (adze)
and a p[omacr]haku ku[revaps]i [revaps]ai (pounder) were gifted to the
museum by Frederic H. Douglas, of Denver, Colorado. This collection of
Hawaiian stone implements was acquired by Douglas from Altman Antiques
of Los Angeles. Altman received them from an auctioneer who had sold
the contents of a house owned by a man who once lived in Hawaii. No
further history was provided. Finally, the Lei niho palaoa was gifted
to the museum in 1954 by Theodore B. Pittman of Massachusetts. It is
uncertain if this was a gift of Theodore Pitman Sr. or T. Pitman Jr.
Theodore ``Ted'' Baldwin ``Hoolulu'' Pitman Jr. (1917-1997) of
Swampscott, born in Hawaii and great-grandson of the High Chieftess
Kinoole-o-Liliha Pitman of Hilo, Hawaii.
Determinations
The Denver Art Museum has determined that:
<bullet> The 18 sacred objects described in this notice are
specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional Native American
religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional
Native American religion, according to the Native American traditional
knowledge of a lineal descendant,
[[Page 14873]]
Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization.
<bullet> There is a connection between the cultural items described
in this notice and the Hui Iwi Kuamo[revaps]o.
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 27, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the Denver Art 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 Denver Art 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 20, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-05970 Filed 3-26-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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