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Notice2026-18968

Notice of Inventory Completion: Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

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 16, 2026

Issuing agencies

Interior DepartmentNational Park Service

Abstract

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Indiana University has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects 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 178 (Wednesday, September 16, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 16, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58697-58698]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18968]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[N7487; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0043738; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Indiana University, Bloomington, 
IN

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Indiana University has completed an 
inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects 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 and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after October 16, 2026.

ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains 
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Dr. Jayne-Leigh 
Thomas, Office of the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Indiana University, Student Building 318, 
701 E Kirkwood Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#394d5156545853584079504c175c5d4c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a4d0cccbc9c5cec5dde4cdd18ac1c0d1">[email&#160;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 
Indiana University, 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, two individuals have been 
identified. The one associated funerary object is one lot of faunal 
bone. This collection was excavated in Carbon County, Montana by the 
Montana Archaeological Survey and donated in 1941 to the University of 
Chicago. There is no

[[Page 58698]]

known presence of any potentially hazardous substances.

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

    Indiana University has determined that:
    <bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
    <bullet> The one object described in this notice is 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 Blackfeet 
Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana; Cheyenne and 
Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma; Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's 
Reservation, Montana; Crow Tribe of Montana; Eastern Shoshone Tribe of 
the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Fort Belknap Indian Community of 
the Fort Belknap Researvation of Montana; Northern Arapaho Tribe of the 
Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the 
Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; and the Shoshone-Bannock 
Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation.

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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with 
cultural affiliation.
    Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after October 
16, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, Indiana 
University 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. Indiana University 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 10, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-18968 Filed 9-15-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P


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Indexed from Federal Register on September 16, 2026.

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