Notice2026-07950
Notice of Inventory Completion: Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
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
April 23, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Indiana 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 78 (Thursday, April 23, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 78 (Thursday, April 23, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Page 21846]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-07950]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7100; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042659; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Indiana University, Bloomington,
IN
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Indiana 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 26, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Dr. Jayne-Leigh
Thomas, Indiana University, Office of the Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act, Student Building 318, 701 E. Kirkwood
Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a2d6cacdcfc3c8c3dbe2cbd78cc7c6d7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="94e0fcfbf9f5fef5edd4fde1baf1f0e1">[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
Indiana 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, 17 individuals and 13
associated funerary objects from various sites in Kentucky have been
identified.
There is one lot of beads from an unknown location in Graves
County, Kentucky.
There are five associated funerary objects (one lot of ceramics,
one lot of worked shell, one lot of lithics, one lot of faunal bone and
one lot of worked bone) excavated an unknown location named
`Rockshelter' in 1931 in Russell County, Kentucky.
There are nine individuals and two associated funerary objects (one
lot of worked bone, one lot of faunal bones) from an unknown site in
Kentucky. This collection was donated to IU from Dr. C.C. Kennedy of
Ohio State University on an unknown date.
There is one individual and one associated funerary object (one lot
faunal bone) found in 1946 from the Nugent Farm site in Henderson
County, Kentucky.
There are three associated funerary objects (one lot shell, one lot
copper, one lot fiber) from an unknown location in Kentucky that was
donated as a part of the Plank Collection to IU.
There is one individual and one lot of lithics from an unknown site
near Leavenworth, Kentucky. This collection was received in 1989.
There are five individuals from unknown locations in Daviess and
Henderson Counties, Kentucky. These were donated to IU in 1999 by
George Martin.
There is one individual from an unknown site labeled `Rockshelter'
in Christian County, Kentucky.
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 and associated funerary objects described in
this notice.
Determinations
Indiana University has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 17 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 13 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; Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of
Cherokee Indians; Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Peoria Tribe of Indians of
Oklahoma; Quapaw Nation; Shawnee Tribe; The Osage Nation; and the
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
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 26,
2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, Indiana
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. Indiana University 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: April 17, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-07950 Filed 4-22-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 23, 2026.
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