Notice2026-19997
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA
Primary source
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Published
September 30, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Autry Museum of the American West (Southwest Museum of the American Indian Collection) intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, and/or 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 188 (Wednesday, September 30, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 188 (Wednesday, September 30, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61877-61880]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-19997]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N7533; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0043896; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Autry Museum of the American
West, Los Angeles, CA
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 Autry Museum of the American West
(Southwest Museum of the American Indian Collection) intends to
repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of
unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, and/or 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 30, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Karimah Richardson, M.Phil., RPA,
Associate Curator of Anthropology and Repatriation Supervisor, Autry
Museum of the American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA
90027, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c6adb4afa5aea7b4a2b5a9a886b2aea3a7b3b2b4bfe8a9b4a1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8be0f9e2e8e3eaf9eff8e4e5cbffe3eeeafefff9f2a5e4f9ec">[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
Autry Museum of the American West, 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 unassociated funerary object is a necklace. In 1924, the
Southwest Museum of the American Indian (now part of the Autry Museum
of the American West) was donated cultural material by Mr. F. A.
Insley. The S'eit (necklace) (348.G.10) was collected in Southeast
Alaska at an unknown date, most likely collected by the donor himself.
Through consultation with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida
Indian Tribes of Alaska, the cultural material has been identified as
an unassociated funerary object. Cultural material like this one, are
shaman's personal items and therefore would have only been collected
from a burial.
A total of two cultural items has been requested for repatriation.
The two sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony are one button
shirt and one beaded shirt. In 1956, the Southwest Museum purchased the
cultural material from Mr. Robert Stolper. Mr. Stolper purchased the
cultural material on unknown dates from unknown locations. The
Yooka.oot Kud[aacute]s' (button shirt) (491.P.3327) and Kud[aacute]s
(beaded shirt) (491.P.3328), were identified as being both objects of
cultural patrimony
[[Page 61878]]
and sacred objects through consultation with the Central Council of the
Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. The Central Council of the
Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska have stated that crest
objects, such as these, are sacred objects and are, therefore,
essential to the ongoing practice of traditional ceremonial rites.
A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation.
The one sacred object/object of cultural patrimony is one Chilkat
blanket. In 1958, the Southwest Museum purchased one Naaxein (Chilkat
blanket) (491.P.3440) from Mrs. Nettie Clare Lewis. Her husband, Mr.
Earl Warren Lewis collected the cultural object circa 18900 from
Alaska. Through consultation with Central Council of the Tlingit and
Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the cultural material has been
identified as both objects of cultural patrimony and as sacred objects.
Chilkat blankets are among the most valued ceremonial clothing for the
Tlingit and are necessary for the ongoing practice of ceremonial rites.
They are also crest objects and, therefore, sacred.
A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation.
The one unassociated funerary object is one Chilkat blanket. In 1933,
the Southwest Museum was donated cultural material from Mrs. Louis J.
Gillespie. Mrs. Gillespie inherited one Naaxein (Chilkat blanket)
(611.G.29) from her family, who obtained the cultural material on an
unknown date from an unknown location. The cultural material is
recorded in the museum files as having come from a chief's grave.
Through consultation with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida
Indian Tribes of Alaska, the cultural material has been identified as
an unassociated funerary object.
A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation.
The one sacred object/object of cultural patrimony is one basket hat.
In 1938, the Southwest Museum was donated cultural material from Mr.
Homer E. Sargent. Mr. Sargent purchased the cultural material in
September 1907 from Mr. F. Matheson. The one S'aaxw Tlein (basket hat)
(742.G.125) was collected in Lynn Canal and River Valleys, Alaska.
Through consultation with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida
Indian Tribes of Alaska, the cultural material has been identified as
being both an object of cultural patrimony and a sacred object. Clan
hats are living objects and, therefore, sacred. As such, the Central
Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska have stated
that it is essential for the ongoing practice of traditional ceremonial
rites and activities.
A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation.
The one sacred object/object of cultural patrimony is one Chilkat
blanket. In 1943, the Southwest Museum was donated cultural material
from Mrs. Edward Laurence Doheny. Mr. and Mrs. Doheny most likely
purchased the cultural material. One Naaxein (Chilkat blanket)
(761.G.33) was collected in Alaska on an unknown date by an unknown
collector. Through consultation with the Central Council of the Tlingit
and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the cultural material has been
identified as being both an object of cultural patrimony and a sacred
object. Chilkat blankets are among the most valued ceremonial clothing
for the Tlingit and are necessary for the ongoing practice of
ceremonial rites. They are also crest objects and, therefore, sacred.
A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation.
The one sacred object/object of cultural patrimony is one ceremonial
crest blanket. In 1945, the Southwest Museum was donated cultural
material by Mr. Homer E. Sargent. One Naaxein (child sized blanket)
(778.G.67) with ceremonial crest symbols, which was made by Mary
Ebbetts Hunt (Tlingit) at an unknown year. It is unknown when or where
Mr. Homer E. Sargent got ahold of the blanket. Through consultation
with the Ketchikan Indian Community and the Central Council of the
Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the cultural material has
been identified as being both an object of cultural patrimony and a
sacred object. The Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska have
stated the crest objects, such as this blanket, are sacred objects and
are, therefore, essential to the ongoing practice of traditional
ceremonial rites.
A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation.
The one unassociated funerary object is one grave board. In 1938, the
Southwest Museum was donated cultural material by Mrs. Lucretta Cole
Waring. The cultural material first came into the museum as a loan and
then became a donation six months later. The cultural material, one
K[aacute]a daakeidi (grave board) (784.G.1), was collected by the
donors deceased brother, Mr. George Townsend, on an unknown date on the
Northwest Coast. Museum records already listed this cultural object as
an unassociated funerary object. Through consultation with the Central
Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the cultural
object was confirmed as being an unassociated funerary object.
A total of 14 cultural items has been requested for repatriation.
The 14 unassociated funerary objects are one dance apron, one dance
poncho, one basket hats, two basket wallets, two masks, one dance club,
one rattle, one dance sash, one headdress, one spoon, one faunal tooth,
and one club. In 1945, the Southwest Museum, Executive Committee of the
Board of Trustees member Mr. Harvey S. Mudd, purchased cultural objects
from Mr. C. Colcock Jones. Mr. Jones, an engineer, purchased the
cultural objects in 1909 from a Native American elder who had gotten it
from a chief who had died at a salmon cannery in a fiord just after
passing through Icy Straits, Alaska. The cultural materials are
unassociated funerary objects as they are personal objects collected
from the deceased chief: one K'ideit (dance apron) (981.G.3/3.C.4), one
Kud[aacute]s' (dance poncho) (981.G.4), one basket hat (981.G.5), two
basket wallets (981.G.6; 981.G.7), two masks (981.G.8; 981.G.9/3.C.4),
one dance club (981.G.10), one rattle (981.G.11), one Koogina (dance
sash) (981.G.15), one Sh[aacute]daa kees (headdress) (981.G.16), one
spoon (981.G.19), one faunal tooth (981.G.28), and one club (981.G.29).
The cultural objects are recorded in museum files as having come from a
chief's grave. Through consultation with the Central Council of the
Tlingit and Haida Tribes of Alaska, these 14 cultural materials have
been identified as unassociated funerary objects.
A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation.
The one sacred object/object of cultural patrimony is one Chilkat
blanket. In 1964, the Southwest Museum was donated cultural material
from Mrs. Gladys K. Irvine. Her mother, Sylvia Knowlton, was the
daughter of Sarah Elizabeth Hunt and Abaelino D. Hunt. Mr. Hunt was a
distant relative of Mary Ebbetts Hunt, who made the Naaxein (Chilkat
blanket) (1919.G.1) on an unknown date. Mrs. Irvine oversaw her
mother's estate when she died in 1964 and donated the cultural material
to the museum in the same year. Through consultation with the Ketchikan
Indian Community and the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida
Indian Tribes of Alaska, this cultural material has been identified as
being both an object of cultural patrimony and a sacred object. Chilkat
blankets are among the most valved ceremonial clothing for the Tlingit
and are necessary for the ongoing practice of ceremonial rites. There
are also crest objects and, therefore, sacred.
[[Page 61879]]
A total of two cultural items has been requested for repatriation.
The two sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony are one beaded
shirt and one belt. In 1968, the Southwest Museum was donated cultural
material by Mrs. Helen H. Pierce. It is unknown who collected or where
the one Kud[aacute]s (beaded shirt) (1931.G.22A) and belt (1931.G.22B)
were collected from. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida
Indian Tribes of Alaska have stated that crest objects, such as these,
are sacred objects and are, therefore, essential to the ongoing
practice of traditional ceremonial rites. Through consultation with the
Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, these
cultural objects have been identified as being both objects of cultural
patrimony and sacred objects.
A total of four cultural items has been requested for repatriation.
The three sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony are one
headdress frontlet, one dagger, and one ``Slave Killer'' club; and the
one unassociated funerary object is an oyster catcher rattle. In 1983,
the Southwest Museum purchased cultural materials from Mr. George
Terasaki of Sotheby Parke Bernet Auction House in New York City. The
cultural materials are one Sh[aacute]kee.[aacute]t (headdress frontlet)
(1983.P.10.1) and one Gw[aacute]laa (dagger) (1983.P.10.3A). Both
cultural materials were collected from Sitka, Baranof Island, Alexander
Archipelago in Alaska at an unknown date by an unknown collector. The
Tlingit and Haida Tribes of Alaska have stated that they are essential
for the ongoing practice of traditional ceremonial rites and
activities. Additionally, one Sheishoox (oyster catcher rattle)
(1983.P.16.3) was collected by an unknown person at an unknown date,
probably Alaska or Pacific Northwest Coast. Furthermore, one Goox Du
Een (``Slave Killer'' club) (1983.P.16.1A) was collected in Alaska by
an unknown person at an unknown date. This cultural object has been
purchased multiple times, with the earliest known recorded collector
being Mr. Jones, an antique dealer in Bath. He bought the object circa
1895 at the Philadelphia Exhibition. It was then found in his cellar in
Bath by Alban Head Esq. at Easter in 1925, who bought the cultural
object. It then somehow made its way to Mr. H.G. Beasley of England,
and then to Ms. Katherine White of Seattle, Washington. Through
consultation with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian
Tribes of Alaska, the Sh[aacute]kee.[aacute]t (headdress frontlet)
(1983.P.10.1), Gw[aacute]laa (dagger) (1983.P.10.3A), and Goox Du Een
(``Slave Killer'' club) (1983.P.16.1A) have been identified as being
both objects of cultural patrimony and sacred objects, while the
Sheishoox (oyster catcher rattle) (1983.P.16.3) has been identified as
an unassociated funerary object. Cultural objects, such as the
Sh[aacute]kee.[aacute]t (headdress frontlet) (1983.P.10.1),
Gw[aacute]laa (dagger) (1983.P.10.3A), and Goox Du Een (``Slave
Killer'' club) (1983.P.16.1A) are living objects and, therefore,
sacred. The Tlingit and Haida Tribes of Alaska have stated that they
are essential for the ongoing practice of traditional ceremonial rites
and activities. The Sheishoox (oyster catcher rattle) (1983.P.16.3) has
been identified by Tlingit representatives as a shaman's object, which
is a personal object that would have only been collected from a burial.
A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation.
The one sacred object/object of cultural patrimony is one button
blanket. The cultural material was found in collections with no object
number or label to provenience. Efforts have been made to determine the
original accession number, but staff have been unsuccessful. No
information is known about the collector, place collected, or how it
entered the Southwest Museum. Through consultation with the Central
Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, one Yooka oot
X'oow (button blanket) (8.C.3) has been identified as both an object of
cultural patrimony and a sacred object. The Central Council of the
Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska have stated that crest
objects, such as button blankets, are sacred objects and are,
therefore, essential to the ongoing practice of traditional ceremonial
rites.
There is a relationship of shared group identity that can be
reasonably traced between the unassociated funerary objects and sacred
objects/objects of cultural patrimony through oral tradition and
historic evidence to the Tlingit and Haida people. Through
consultation, objects were identified as both sacred objects and
objects of cultural patrimony. The Central Council of the Tlingit and
Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska have stated that ``Crest objects such as
the objects claimed in this claim are recognized by Tlingit as sacred
objects.'' These sacred objects are essential to the practice of
ceremonial rites and have ongoing historical, traditional, and cultural
importance central to the Tlingit society and culture. Objects were
also identified as unassociated funerary objects, either through museum
records or there were identified as personal items by the Central
Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. Objects are
currently being tested for potentially hazardous substances. Through
consultation, the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian
Tribes of Alaska stated cultural affiliation to the cultural materials.
Determinations
The Autry Museum of the American West has determined that:
<bullet> The 18 unassociated funerary objects described in this
notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with
or near human remains, and are connected, either at the time of death
or later as part of the death rite or ceremony of a Native American
culture according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a
lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. The
unassociated funerary objects have been identified by a preponderance
of the evidence as related to human remains, specific individuals, or
families, or removed from a specific burial site or burial area of an
individual or individuals with cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe
or Native Hawaiian organization.
<bullet> The 13 sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony
described in this notice are, according to the Native American
traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization, specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional
Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice
traditional Native American religion, and 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).
<bullet> There is a connection between the cultural items described
in this notice and the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian
Tribes; Ketchikan Indian Community; and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska.
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.
[[Page 61880]]
Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to a requestor
may occur on or after October 30, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the Autry Museum of the American West 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 Autry Museum of the
American West 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 24, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-19997 Filed 9-29-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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