Notice2026-05975
Notice of Inventory Completion: Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV
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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 Huntington Museum of Art (HMoA) 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 14877-14878]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05975]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7022; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042480; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Huntington Museum of Art,
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), the Huntington Museum of Art (HMoA) 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.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Liz Simmons,
Executive Director, HMoA, 2033 McCoy Road, Huntington, WV 25701, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fd918e94909092938ebd9590929cd3928f9a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d5b9a6bcb8b8babba695bdb8bab4fbbaa7b2">[email protected]</span></a> or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a6c8c7c1d6d4c7e6cecbc9c788c9d4c1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6907080e191b08290104060847061b0e">[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
HMoA, 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, two individuals have been
identified. The 82 associated funerary objects are: one lot antler
awls; one lot antler beads; one antler handle; one lot antler pendants;
one antler scraper; one lot antler, modified; one lot anvil stones; one
bird stone; one lot bone (faunal); one lot bone (faunal) awls; one lot
bone (faunal) beads; one lot bone (faunal) dowels; one lot bone
(faunal) fishhooks; one lot bone (faunal) gorgets; one lot bone
(faunal) pendants; one lot bone (faunal) pins; one lot bone (faunal)
scrapers; one lot bone (faunal) tinkers; one lot; bone (faunal)
whistles; one lot bone (faunal), modified; one lot cannel coal claws/
teeth; one cannel coal discoidal; one lot cannel coal pendants; one
clay discoidal; one lot clay effigies; one lot clay effigy rattles; one
lot clay pipes; one lot copper effigy pendants; one lot copper
fragments, modified; one copper gorget; one lot copper pendants; one
lot copper tinkers; one lot copper tubes; one lot corn cobs; one flaked
glass; one fossil bead; one lot fragmented elk teeth from necklace; one
lot geodes; one glass bead; one lot hammerstones; one lot hematite
blocks; one lot hematite sinkers; one lot incised (faunal) bones; one
incised shell; one lot incised stones; one iron item, modified; one lot
lithic flakes; one lot lithic points; one necklace of deer leg bones;
one possible chunkey stone; one lot pottery sherds; one raw potter's
clay; one lot red stone pendants; one lot shaped clay items; one lot
shell beads; one lot shell disks; one shell gorget incised with a
rattlesnake; one lot shell gorgets; one lot shell hoes; one lot shell
pendants; one shell, unmodified; one lot stone adzes; one stone atlatl
weight; one lot stone axes; one lot stone beads; one lot stone celts;
one lot stone chisels; one lot stone discoidals; one lot stone drills;
one lot stone effigies; one stone fishhook; one lot stone gorgets; one
lot stone harpoon/spear points; one stone pestle; one lot stone pipes;
one lot stone plummets; one lot stone scrapers; one lot stones,
modified; one lot teeth (faunal); one lot teeth (faunal) pendants; one
lot turtle shells; and one lot whetstones. The human remains
(Ancestors) and associated funerary objects (funerary belongings) were
removed from the Clover Site (46CB40) in Cabell County, WV. John J.
Adams was an avocational archaeologist and charter member of the West
Virginia and Ohio Archaeological Societies. Beginning in the 1930s,
Adams collected Native American cultural material, Ancestors, and
funerary belongings from the Clover Site. Adams reportedly collected
primarily from the surface and there is no known documentation of his
collecting strategy. A minimum of one Ancestor was donated by Adams to
the HMoA in October 1980. In 1990, during a West Virginia Archaeology
interview about the Adams Collection at the HMoA, Thomas Kuhn, Adam's
friend and former archaeology faculty member at Marshall University,
described a beamer made of human bone collected by Adams from the
Clover Site. It is not clear whether the Ancestor mentioned by Kuhn was
included in the Adams Collection donated to the HMoA. The Ancestor is
considered missing in collection. Glues, polyvinyl acetate, and enamels
were potentially used to display and reconstruct some associated
funerary objects in the past. Apart from this, HMoA has no knowledge or
record of the presence of any potentially hazardous substances used to
treat the human remains or associated funerary objects.
Human remains representing, at least, two individuals have been
identified. The 35 associated funerary objects are: one beaded article
of leather clothing (missing); one beaded leather moccasin (missing);
one boat stone; one lot bone (faunal) beads; one bone (faunal)
spearhead; one canine (faunal); one clay effigy; one clay pipe shaft;
one copper spearhead; one coral fossil; one drilled shell, possibly a
mask; one effigy gorget incised with owl, turtles, and tipi; one four-
legged clay bowl; one lot gorgets; one lot hammerstones; one lot lithic
flakes; one lot lithic points; one oval nut stone; one lot plummet
stones; one lot pottery sherds; one lot stone adzes; one stone axe with
wood handle; one lot stone axes; one lot stone celts; one lot stone
discoidals; one lot stone drills; one stone effigy; one lot stone
pendants; one lot stone pestles; one lot stone pipes; one lot stone
scrapers; one lot stones, modified; one wood bow (missing); one wooden
handle; and one worked leather strap. On an unknown date, the human
remains (Ancestors) and associated funerary objects (funerary
belongings) were removed from the Ceredo region, Wayne County, West
Virginia. In the late 1800's to early 1900's, the Hoard and Stark
families owned railway, timber, and mineral claims in the Ceredo
region. It is thought the Ancestors and funerary belongings were
collected by members of the Hoard and Stark families during industry-
led excavations in the Ceredo region. Mr. and Mrs. Pitt Stark donated
the Ancestors and funerary belongings to the HMoA on May 28, 1970. An
undamaged Hanes Excelsior Civil War Grenade was originally stored in
the same box as one of the individuals. While the grenade is inactive
and was moved to isolation, it may be a source of residue
contamination. Additionally,
[[Page 14878]]
glues, polyvinyl acetate, and enamels were potentially used to display
and reconstruct some associated funerary objects in the past. Apart
from this, HMoA has no knowledge or record of any additional
potentially hazardous substances being used to treat the human remains
or associated funerary objects.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. On an unknown
date, human remains (Ancestor) were removed from an unknown location.
On an unknown date, the Ancestor was transferred to the HMoA by an
unknown individual. On August 29, 1988, the HMoA filled out an American
Association of Museums Collections Survey documenting the presence of
the Ancestor. Based on the acquisition history of the HMoA Native
American Collection, it is possible the Ancestor was removed from West
Virginia. The Ancestor is missing in collection. HMoA has no knowledge
or record of the presence of any potentially hazardous substances used
to treat the human remains.
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
The HMoA has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of five individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 117 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, the HMoA
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 HMoA 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 20, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-05975 Filed 3-26-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 27, 2026.
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