Notice2026-05973
Notice of Inventory Completion: Marshall University, Huntington, WV
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), Marshall University 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 59 (Friday, March 27, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 59 (Friday, March 27, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14875-14877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05973]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7021; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042479; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Marshall University, Huntington,
WV
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Marshall University 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 27, 2026.
[[Page 14876]]
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Dr. Marion Coe,
Marshall University, One John Marshall Drive, Huntington, WV 25755,
email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#accfc3c9c1ecc1cddedfc4cdc0c082c9c8d9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e78488828aa78a8695948f868b8bc9828392">[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
Marshall University, 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 least 21 individuals have been
identified from the Clover Site (46-CB-40) in Cabell County, WV. The 21
items and lots of associated funerary objects are one lot burned
faunal, one lot ceramics, one lot charcoal, one lot charred botanicals,
one lot charred wood, one lot copper, one corn cob, one lot European
ceramics, one lot faunal, one lot fire-cracked rock, one lot ground
stone, one lot hematite, one lot iron ore, one lot lithics, one log
(red cedar or juniper), one lot modern ceramic, one lot possible ochre,
one sandstone, one lot shell, one lot slate, and one lot soil samples.
The Clover Site spans multiple archaeological phases of occupation with
habitation documented in the early Archaic through the Late
Prehistoric. It is best known in the archaeological community for its
Fort Ancient component. This Late Prehistoric village site is located
on a high flood terrace of the Ohio River, within the Green Bottom
Wildlife Management Area. It is designated as a National Historic
Landmark for the Fort Ancient Complex component. In 2018, Marshall
University described six Ancestors and 53 funerary belongings in an
Inventory and Notice of Inventory Completion. At that time this was
thought to represent the extent of human remains and cultural items in
the possession and control of Marshall University. In 2024, Marshall
conducted a campus-wide survey and audit of all cultural collections.
In July 2024, housing containing additional Ancestors and funerary
belongings from Clover was identified.
Human remains representing at least one individual have been
identified from near Point Pleasant in Mason County, WV. The three
associated funerary objects are one lot ceramic fragments, one lot
faunal fragments, and one lot shell fragments. During a detailed
collections assessment conducted in July 2024, human remains and
associated funerary objects were identified in the Biological Sciences
Department. A note in the housing dated the Ancestors to 1320 AD.
Human remains representing at least two individuals have been
identified from Sycamore Creek near Hurricane, Putnam County, WV. The
two associated funerary objects are one burnt pottery fragment and one
strap handle sherd fragment. On an unknown date, these individuals and
funerary objects were collected by F.M. Riddle.
Human remains representing at least one individual has been
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The individual
is from an unknown location in West Virginia.
Human remains representing at least two individuals have been
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. No location
information is available for these individuals.
Marshall University has no knowledge or record of the presence of
any potentially hazardous substances used to treat any of the human
remains or associated funerary objects.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical
location and acquisition history of the human remains and associated
funerary objects described in this notice.
Determinations
Marshall University has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 27 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 26 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 Absentee-
Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Bay Mills Indian Community,
Michigan; Catawba Indian Nation; Cayuga Nation; Cherokee Nation;
Chickahominy Indian Tribe--Eastern Division; Chippewa Cree Indians of
the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana; Delaware Tribe of Indians;
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma;
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Kaw
Nation, Oklahoma; Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigan; Lac Courte
Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Lac du
Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau
Reservation of Wisconsin; Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of
Montana; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Component reservations:
Bois Forte Band (Nett Lake); Fond du Lac Band; Grand Portage Band;
Leech Lake Band; White Earth Band); Monacan Indian Nation; Nansemond
Indian Nation; Omaha Tribe of Nebraska; Oneida Indian Nation; Oneida
Nation; Onondaga Nation; Pamunkey Indian Tribe; Ponca Tribe of Indians
of Oklahoma; Ponca Tribe of Nebraska; Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior
Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians,
Minnesota; Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan; Saint Regis
Mohawk Tribe; Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan;
Seneca Nation of Indians; Seneca-Cayuga Nation; Shawnee Tribe; St.
Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; The Osage Nation; Tonawanda Band
of Seneca; Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe; Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa
Indians of North Dakota; Tuscarora Nation; United Keetoowah Band of
Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma; and the Wyandotte Nation.
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 27,
2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, Marshall
University 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. Marshall University is responsible for sending a
copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native
[[Page 14877]]
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 20, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-05973 Filed 3-26-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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