Notice2026-06341
Notice of Inventory Completion: C.T. Hurst Museum, Western Colorado University, Gunnison, CO
Primary source
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Published
April 2, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the C.T. Hurst Museum, Western Colorado 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 63 (Thursday, April 2, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 63 (Thursday, April 2, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16730-16731]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-06341]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7039; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042503; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: C.T. Hurst Museum, Western
Colorado University, Gunnison, 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 C.T. Hurst Museum, Western Colorado
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 May 4, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and
[[Page 16731]]
associated funerary objects in this notice to David M. Hyde, Director
of the CT Hurst Museum, 1 Western Way, Western Colorado University,
Gunnison, CO 81231, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#791d11001d1c390e1c0a0d1c0b17571c1d0c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f5919d8c9190b58290868190879bdb909180">[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
C.T. Hurst 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 least 43 individuals have been
identified. The 155 associated funerary objects are pottery, carved
stone sacred objects, shell bracelets, and ring with a human scalp.
The collection includes ancestral remains and associated objects
from several Southwestern locations, most gathered in the 1920s-1940s
by various collectors. These include an infant skull fragment from
Tabeguache Cave; 25 ancestors, two canine skulls, and 131 ceramics
collected by Alfred Peterson near Ignacio and Durango; four ancestors
from Montezuma County linked to the Yellow Jacket site; a mother and
child from Mesa County collected by Ed Faber, along with a human scalp
on a ring; one ancestor from New Mexico's Galisteo Basin, possibly
Blanco Ruin, accompanied by three altar stones; and one ancestor from
the Mimbres Valley. Nine additional ancestors lack provenance. Funerary
and sacred objects include Peterson bowls, Mimbres bowls, canine
skulls, a scalp on a ring, altar stones, carved sacred items, and shell
bracelets.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical
location or acquisition history of the human remains and associated
funerary objects described in this notice.
Determinations
The C.T. Hurst Museum has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 43 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 155 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 Hopi Tribe
of Arizona; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the
Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.
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 May 4,
2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the C.T.
Hurst Museum 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 C.T. Hurst Musuem 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 24, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-06341 Filed 4-1-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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