Notice2026-18340
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV
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 Huntington Museum of Art (HMoA) intends to repatriate a certain cultural item that meets the definition of a sacred object and that has 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 57366-57367]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18340]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7474; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0043679; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Huntington Museum of Art,
Huntington, WV
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 Huntington Museum of Art (HMoA) intends
to repatriate a certain cultural item that meets the definition of a
sacred object and that has a cultural affiliation with the Indian
Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural item in this notice may occur on or
after October 9, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural
[[Page 57367]]
item in this notice to Liz Simmons, Executive Director, HMoA, 2033
McCoy Road, Huntington, WV 25701, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#026e716b6f6f6d6c71426a6f6d632c6d7065"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="016d72686c6c6e6f7241696c6e602f6e7366">[email protected]</span></a> or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cda3acaabdbfac8da5a0a2ace3a2bfaa"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e18f8086919380a1898c8e80cf8e9386">[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
HMoA, 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 sacred object is one pair of dance moccasins. On an unknown
date between 1882 and 1958, the moccasins were collected by James L.
Chaffin from an unknown location in Montana. According to his great
nephew, Chaffin spent many years living with Native American Tribes in
Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and nearby states in the region.
Chaffin left the moccasins to relatives Mr. and Mrs. Taylor Vinson
(nephew and nephew's wife), who donated the moccasins to the HMoA in
1969. In museum records, the moccasins are identified as ``Assiniboine
Tribe--19th Century.'' HMoA has no knowledge or record of the presence
of any potentially hazardous substances used to treat the sacred
object.
Determinations
The HMoA has determined that:
<bullet> The one sacred object described in this notice is a
specific ceremonial object needed by a traditional Native American
religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional
Native American religion, according to the Native American traditional
knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian
organization.
<bullet> There is a connection between the cultural item described
in this notice and the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck
Indian Reservation, Montana.
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 October 9, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the HMoA 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 HMoA 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. 2026-18340 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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