Notice2026-11242
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Lincoln National Forest, Alamogordo, NM
Primary source
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Published
June 4, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Lincoln National Forest 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 107 (Thursday, June 4, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 107 (Thursday, June 4, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33741-33742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-11242]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7203; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042935; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Lincoln National Forest, Alamogordo, NM
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 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Lincoln National Forest 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 July 6, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Jason Freeman, Forest
Supervisor, Lincoln National Forest, 3463 Las Palomas Road, Alamogordo,
NM 88310, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e1ab80928e8fcfa79384848c808fd3a194928580cf868e97"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ffb59e8c9091d1b98d9a9a929e91cdbf8a8c9b9ed1989089">[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
Lincoln National Forest, and additional information on the
determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation,
can be found in its inventory or related records. The
[[Page 33742]]
National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this
notice.
Abstract of Information Available
Human remains representing, at least, 10 individuals have been
identified. The approximately 102 associated funerary objects include
faunal remains, pottery sherds, sticks, sandals, sandal fragments,
nets, strings, cordage, scrapers, knives, comingled soil, mats,
lithics, fragments of an unspecified material, ropes, burial wrappings,
pieces of charred woven baskets, wooden tools, rabbit fur robe
fragments, and miscellaneous items (one or more each of the following:
tassel, prayer stick or Paho fragment, gourd fragment, awl, loop Yucca,
stone, bowl, bead ornament, sotol stalk, rabbit skin blanket fragment,
small bundle containing reed, fur, feathers, and cordage).
These ancestors and funerary objects were removed from Site LA538,
Last Chance Canyon Burial Cave, in Eddy County, New Mexico. They were
excavated between 1929 and 1932 by Dr. E.B. Howard with the University
of Pennsylvania and Harry P. Mera with the New Mexico Laboratory of
Anthropology. They were then curated at the Museum of New Mexico
(subsequently divided between the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture,
Santa Fe and the Maxwell Museum, University of New Mexico), the
Carlsbad Museum and Art Center, and the University of Pennsylvania
Museum. It is not known whether potentially hazardous substances were
used to treat the ancestors and funerary items.
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 Lincoln National Forest has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 10 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The approximately 102 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 Mescalero
Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico and the Ysleta
del Sur Pueblo.
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 July 6,
2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Lincoln
National Forest 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 Lincoln National Forest 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: May 29, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-11242 Filed 6-3-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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