Notice2026-11248
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office, Santa Fe, NM, and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Basin Region, Salt Lake City, UT
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 the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office, (BLM), and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Basin Region (Reclamation) have completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and have 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 33736-33737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-11248]
[[Page 33736]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7209; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042941; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office, Santa Fe, NM, and
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado
Basin Region, Salt Lake City, UT
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 the Interior, Bureau
of Land Management, New Mexico State Office, (BLM), and U.S. Department
of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Basin Region
(Reclamation) have completed an inventory of human remains and
associated funerary objects and have 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 Sean Daugherty, U.S.
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Albuquerque
District Office, 100 Sun Ave. NE, Pan American Building, Suite 230,
Albuquerque, NM 87109, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c1b2a5a0b4a6a9a4b381a3adacefa6aeb7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f380979286949b9681b3919f9edd949c85">[email protected]</span></a> and Zachary Nelson, U.S.
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Basin
Region, 125 South State Street, Room 8100, Salt Lake City, UT 84138,
email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e79d89828b948889a792948595c9808891"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="84feeae1e8f7ebeac4f1f7e6f6aae3ebf2">[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
BLM and Reclamation, and additional information on the determinations
in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in
the inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not
responsible for the determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from
the Navajo Reservoir area of San Juan Counties, New Mexico, and
Archuleta County, Colorado, and are in the custody of the Museum of New
Mexico, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and
Arizona State University, School of Human Evolution and Social Change,
Tempe, Arizona. BLM and Reclamation acknowledge the deep and abiding
connection Indian Tribes have and their affiliation with the Ancestors
from the Navajo Reservoir area. The human remains and associated
funerary objects were removed from archeological sites in the Navajo
Reservoir District in San Juan County, NM; and Archuleta County, CO
from 1956 to 1963 by archeologists from the Museum of New Mexico and
School for Advanced Research (then known as the School of American
Research) under contract with the National Park Service. Additional
excavations were potentially conducted at one of the sites in Archuleta
County, CO, during 1987 by Complete Archaeological Service Associates
under contract with Reclamation. This notice includes cultural items
dating from the Los Pinos Phase (A.D. 1-400), Sambrito Phase (A.D. 400-
700), Rosa Phase (A.D. 750-850), Piedra Phase (A.D. 800-1000), and/or
Arboles Phase (A.D. 950-1050).
Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been
identified from site 5AA.1276/LA 4092 in Archuleta County, CO. No
associated funerary objects are present. The excavation occurred during
investigations in or around Navajo Reservoir paid for by Reclamation on
land managed by BLM.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been
identified from site LA 4216 in San Juan County, NM. No associated
funerary objects are present. The excavation occurred during
investigations in or around Navajo Reservoir paid for by Reclamation on
land managed by BLM.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been
identified from site LA 4257 in San Juan County, NM. No associated
funerary objects are present. The excavation occurred during
investigations in or around Navajo Reservoir paid for by Reclamation on
land managed by BLM.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual and a dental
cast have been identified from site LA 4289 in San Juan County, NM. The
one lot of associated funerary objects include one lot of faunal
remains from a dog burial. The excavation occurred during
investigations in or around Navajo Reservoir paid for by Reclamation on
land managed by BLM.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been
identified from site LA 4298 in San Juan County, NM. The one lot of
associated funerary objects include one lot of botanical remains. The
excavation occurred during investigations in or around Navajo Reservoir
paid for by Reclamation on land managed by BLM.
Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been
identified from an unknown site/boneyard site located near Navajo
Reservoir. The two lots of associated funerary objects include one lot
of ceramics and one lot of lithics. The excavation occurred during
investigations in or around Navajo Reservoir paid for by Reclamation on
land managed by BLM.
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
The BLM and Reclamation have determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of at least six individuals of Native American
ancestry.
<bullet> The four lots of 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; Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico; Navajo Nation,
Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah; Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico; Pueblo of
Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New
Mexico; Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico;
Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico; Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; Pueblo of
Pojoaque, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico; Pueblo of San
Ildefonso, New Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa
Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New
Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; Santo
Domingo Pueblo; Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute
Reservation, Colorado; Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray
Reservation, Utah; Ute Mountain Ute Tribe; Ysleta del Sur Pueblo; and
the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.
[[Page 33737]]
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the
authorized representatives 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 a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization.
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 BLM and
Reclamation 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 BLM and Reclamation are 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. 2026-11248 Filed 6-3-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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