Notice2026-08772
Notice of Inventory Completion: Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Primary source
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Published
May 5, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program (OSA BP) has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 86 (Tuesday, May 5, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 86 (Tuesday, May 5, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24288-24289]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-08772]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7126; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042697; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Office of the State
Archaeologist, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
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 Office of the State Archaeologist
Bioarchaeology Program (OSA BP) has completed an inventory of human
remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between
the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in
this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or
after June 4, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
in this notice to Dr. Lara Noldner, Office of the State Archaeologist
Bioarchaeology Program, University of Iowa, 700 S Clinton Street, Iowa
City, IA 52242, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dbb7baa9baf6b5b4b7bfb5bea99baeb2b4acbaf5bebfae"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c0aca1b2a1edaeafaca4aea5b280b5a9afb7a1eea5a4b5">[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
OSA BP, 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, one individual have been
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The human
remains were reportedly exposed by road construction approximately 50
years ago near Bellevue, Iowa and taken by a local Jackson County
resident; they were given to a local art teacher who decided to turn
them in to the Jackson County Medical Examiner's Office in February
2026. The Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner (IOSME) arranged
for their documentation by a forensic anthropologist who determined the
human remains were of Native American ancestry and not of medicolegal
significance. The human remains were then transferred to the OSA BP in
March of 2026 by the IOSME. A middle adult female, 25-50 years old, is
represented (BP4034). The more specific location of her original burial
location is currently unknown. No hazardous substances have been 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 described in this
notice.
Determinations
The OSA BP has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> There is a connection between the human remains described
in this notice and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River
Reservation, South Dakota; Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma;
Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; Ho-Chunk Nation of
Wisconsin; Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of
[[Page 24289]]
Oklahoma; Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; Miami
Tribe of Oklahoma; Omaha Tribe of Nebraska; Otoe-Missouria Tribe of
Indians, Oklahoma; Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Peoria Tribe of Indians
of Oklahoma; Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Ponca Tribe of
Nebraska; Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation; Prairie Island Indian
Community in the State of Minnesota; Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in
Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Tribe of the
Mississippi in Iowa; Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraska; Sisseton-Wahpeton
Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota; Spirit Lake
Tribe, North Dakota; Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold
Reservation, North Dakota; Upper Sioux Community, Minnesota; Winnebago
Tribe of Nebraska; and the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains 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 described in this notice to a
requestor may occur on or after June 4, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the OSA BP must determine the most
appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint
repatriation of the human remains are considered a single request and
not competing requests. The OSA BP 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 27, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-08772 Filed 5-4-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P`
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 5, 2026.
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