Notice2026-18342
Notice of Inventory Completion: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Primary source
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Published
September 9, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University (PMAE) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects 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 173 (Wednesday, September 9, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 173 (Wednesday, September 9, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57372-57373]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18342]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7462; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0043668; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
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 Peabody Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology, Harvard University (PMAE) has completed an inventory of
human remains and associated funerary objects 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 October 9, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Jane Pickering,
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, 11
Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ff958f969c949a8d969198bf999e8cd1979e8d899e8d9bd19a9b8a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="187268717b737d6a71767f587e796b3670796a6e796a7c367d7c6d">[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
PMAE, 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
Human remains representing at least 33 individuals have been
identified from Nueces County, TX. The five associated funerary objects
are one lot consisting of faunal remains, two lots of plant remains,
one lot of ceramic items, and one lot of stone items. These ancestors
and associated funerary objects were removed from the Texas site
#41NU2, Nueces County, TX, by George Woodbury in 1934 and donated to
the Peabody Museum by the Gila Pueblo Archaeological Foundation later
that year.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the information
available about the human remains and associated funerary objects
described in this notice.
Determinations
The PMAE has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 33 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The five 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 Alabama-
Coushatta Tribe of Texas; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma;
Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas; Kiowa
Tribe (previously listed as Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma); Mescalero
Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; Shawnee Tribe;
The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; Thlopthlocco Tribal Town; and the
Wichita and Affiliated Tribes
[[Page 57373]]
(Wichita, Keechi, Waco, & Tawakonie), Oklahoma.
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 a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization.
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after October 9, 2026. If
competing requests for repatriation are received, the PMAE 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 PMAE is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to
the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this
notice.
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. 2026-18342 Filed 9-8-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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