Notice2026-08774
Notice of Intended Repatriation: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
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
May 5, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) intends to repatriate a certain cultural item that meets the definition of an unassociated funerary object and that has a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribe 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]
[Page 24289]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-08774]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7128; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042700; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York, NY
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 Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)
intends to repatriate a certain cultural item that meets the definition
of an unassociated funerary object and that has a cultural affiliation
with the Indian Tribe in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural item in this notice may occur on or
after June 4, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural item in this notice to Jennifer Day, NAGPRA Coordinator &
Community Liaison, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue,
New York, NY 10028, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d79db2b9b9beb1b2a5f9b3b6ae97bab2a3baa2a4b2a2baf9b8a5b0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fdb7989393949b988fd3999c84bd90988990888e988890d3928f9a">[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
Met, and additional information on the determinations in this notice,
including the results of consultation, can be found in the summary or
related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the
determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation.
The one unassociated funerary object is a quartz sandstone male figure
crouching on one knee (former Met accession number 1979.206.476).
Consultation with The Chickasaw Nation and museum records indicate that
the figure would have been a focus of ancestor veneration and would
have been placed in shrines together with significant ancestors.
Further records indicate that the ancestral figure was found on the
banks of Duck River in Humphreys County, Tennessee, the traditional
homelands of The Chickasaw Nation, and identify the figure as
culturally affiliated with The Chickasaw Nation. The item was donated
to the museum by Nelson Rockefeller in 1979.
Determinations
The Met has determined that:
<bullet> The one unassociated funerary object described in this
notice is reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or
near human remains, and are connected, either at the time of death or
later as part of the death rite or ceremony of a Native American
culture according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a
lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. The
unassociated funerary object has been identified by a preponderance of
the evidence as related to human remains, specific individuals, or
families, or removed from a specific burial site or burial area of an
individual or individuals with cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe
or Native Hawaiian organization.
<bullet> There is a connection between the cultural item described
in this notice and The Chickasaw Nation.
Requests for Repatriation
Additional written requests for repatriation of the cultural item
in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified
in this notice under ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be
submitted by 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 a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization.
Repatriation of the cultural item in this notice to a requestor may
occur on or after June 4, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation
are received, The Met must determine the most appropriate requestor
prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the cultural
item are considered a single request and not competing requests. The
Met is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian
Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice and
to any other consulting parties.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.
Dated: April 27, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-08774 Filed 5-4-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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