Notice2026-18335
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI
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 Milwaukee Public Museum intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of sacred objects and that have a cultural affiliation with the 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 57367-57368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18335]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7463; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0043669; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Milwaukee Public Museum,
Milwaukee, WI
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 Milwaukee Public Museum intends to
repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of sacred
objects and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or
Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on
or after October 9, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Dawn Scher Thomae, Milwaukee Public
Museum, 800 W Wells Street, Milwaukee, WI 53233, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1d697572707c785d706d7033787968"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3a4e5255575b5f7a574a57145f5e4f">[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
Milwaukee Public Museum, 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 161 cultural items has been requested for repatriation.
The 161 sacred objects include stone images, a whale tooth necklace, a
whale tooth pendant, kapa cloths, kapa markers, kapa beaters, poi
pounders, model canoes, bowls, bowl carrying nets, cups, platters,
lamps, wrist ornaments, bracelets, shell necklaces, a fish hook, stone
net weights, slingstones, bowling stones, adzes, scrapers, a celt, a
stirrup pounders, hammerstone, fans, rope, musical bows, smoking pipes,
a club, pillows, a mat, a basket, a burnishing stone, a skirt, a gourd
rattle, a mirror, a ritual cuspidor, a head ornament, and a fossil
coral. The items were collected by various individuals during the 19th
and 20th centuries and came to the Milwaukee Public Museum through
donation and purchase between the years 1889 and 1982. Of the 161
items, 114 of these items were donated to the Milwaukee Public Museum
by George E. Copeland of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1922.
All of the items note ``Hawaii'' as the provenience except for the
following items: two game stones from the island of Oahu; two poi bowls
and a kapa from the island of Hawai[revaps]i; one poi pounder from the
island of Molokai; two stirrup pounders and a shell necklace from the
island of Kaua[revaps]i. There are nine kapa (bark cloth) with a
recorded provenience of ``South Sea Islands'' and one kapa (bark cloth)
with no provenience but were identified through consultation as being
from Hawai[revaps]i.
The Milwaukee Public Museum has no specific information about the
above items being treated with pesticides or preservatives that may
represent a potential hazard. However, we do know that some items in
the museum collection, mainly clothing and other textiles, were treated
with chemicals by our museum in the first part of the 20th century.
Determinations
The Milwaukee Public Museum has determined that:
<bullet> The 161 sacred objects described in this notice are
specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional Native American
religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional
Native American religion, according to the Native American traditional
[[Page 57368]]
knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian
organization.
<bullet> There is a connection between the cultural items described
in this notice and the Hui Iwi Kuamo[revaps]o.
Requests for Repatriation
Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items
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 items in this notice to a requestor
may occur on or after October 9, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the Milwaukee Public Museum must determine
the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for
joint repatriation of the cultural items are considered a single
request and not competing requests. The Milwaukee Public Museum 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: September 1, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-18335 Filed 9-8-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 9, 2026.
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