Notice2026-18329
Notice of Inventory Completion: Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL
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
September 9, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA) 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 173 (Wednesday, September 9, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 173 (Wednesday, September 9, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57381-57382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18329]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7476; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0043681; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Birmingham Museum of Art,
Birmingham, AL
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 Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA) 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 October 9, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
in this notice to Dr. Anne Forschler-Tarrasch, Director of Collections
& Exhibitions, Birmingham Museum of Art, 2000 Rev. Abraham Woods, Jr.
Blvd., Birmingham, AL 35203, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#afcec9c0dddcccc7c3caddefcedddbdccdc2ce81c0ddc8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f495929b8687979c989186b495868087969995da9b8693">[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
BMA, 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. Sometime before
1969, Dr. Samuel Fischer III removed human remains from an unknown
geographic location. Fischer donated the Ancestors to the BMA in 1969.
The Ancestor was donated as part of a larger collection that included
Ancestors removed from Detroit, Lamar County, Alabama (repatriated to
The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma in December 2025 following consultation
and the publication of a Notice of Inventory Completion in the Federal
Register), as well as material removed from archaeological contexts
near Florence, Alabama, and from various locations near the Tennessee
[[Page 57382]]
River. Due to Fischer's known collecting activities, the human remains
are likely to have been removed from Northern Alabama.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographic
location and acquisition history of the human remains described in this
notice.
Determinations
BMA 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 Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma;
Alabama Coushatta Tribe of Texas; Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town;
Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Eastern
Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Jena Band of Choctaw Indians; Kialegee
Tribal Town; Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; Poarch Band of Creek
Indians; Seminole Tribe of Florida; The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; The
Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; Thlopthlocco Tribal Town; and the United
Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
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 October 9, 2026. If competing requests
for repatriation are received, BMA 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 BMA 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: September 1, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-18329 Filed 9-8-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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