Notice2026-19487
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA
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 23, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of objects of cultural patrimony 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 183 (Wednesday, September 23, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 183 (Wednesday, September 23, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60404-60405]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-19487]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7508; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0043798; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts,
Richmond, VA
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 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts intends to
repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of objects
of cultural patrimony 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 23, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Siera Hyte, Schiller Family Curator of
Indigenous American Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N Arthur
Ashe Blvd., Richmond, VA 23220, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2f5c464a5d4e0147565b4a6f5942494e01425a5c4a5a42"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c3b0aaa6b1a2edabbab7a683b5aea5a2edaeb6b0a6b6ae">[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
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 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 three cultural items have been requested for
repatriation. The three objects of cultural patrimony are one headdress
frontlet, one raven rattle, and one halibut grease dish. The frontlet
is made of wood and abalone and is dated to the 19th or early 20th
century in the museum's records. In the museum's records, it is
alternatively referred to as a headdress frontlet and as a ``sun
mask.'' The frontlet was purchased by Robert and Nancy Nooter in 2007
from Alaska on Madison, a New York-based gallery. The frontlet's
provenance prior to 2007 is not currently known, and it was accessioned
into the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts collection in 2017. The raven
rattle is made of wood and pigment and is dated to circa 1890 in the
museum's records. It was acquired by Robert and Nancy Nooter in 2008
from Tambaran Gallery, a New York-based gallery. Prior to Tambaran
Gallery, collector records indicate only that the rattle was previously
held in a private collection in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The rattle was
accessioned into the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts collection in 2017.
The halibut grease dish is made of carved and painted alder wood, and
the museum's records indicate that it was made prior to 1943. It was
first acquired in May of 1943 by Axel Rasmussen (American, 1886-1945),
collector and former superintendent of schools in Wrangell, AK.
Following Rasmussen's death, his collection was dispersed to Skagway
and Wrangell, AK, as well as to Colorado and Indiana, and eventually
purchased and reconstituted by the dealer Earl Stendahl (American,
1888-1966). Stendahl sold part of the collection to the Portland Art
Museum, Portland, OR, including this dish, in 1948 or 1949. The
Portland Art Museum sold the dish, along with several other items from
the Rasmussen Collection to the Virgina Museum of Fine Arts in 1955. In
the museum's records, all three objects are labeled as culturally
affiliated with the Tsimshian people. Results of consultation with the
Metlakatla Indian Community confirm that all three cultural items are
affiliated with the Ts'msyen (Tsimshian) people of the Metlakatla
Indian Community and are not severable from the Ts'msyen people of the
Metlakatla Indian Community. Furthermore, the Metlakatla Indian
Community asserts that the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts does not have
right of possession to the cultural items.
Determinations
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has determined that:
<bullet> The three objects of cultural patrimony described in this
notice have ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance
central to the Native American group, including any constituent sub-
group (such as a band, clan, lineage, ceremonial society, or other
subdivision), according to the Native American traditional knowledge of
an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
<bullet> There is a connection between the cultural items described
in this notice and the Metlakatla Indian Community, Annette Island
Reserve.
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 23, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received,
[[Page 60405]]
the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts 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 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts 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 17, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-19487 Filed 9-22-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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