Notice of Intended Repatriation: Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL

Issuing agencies

Abstract

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA) 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 209 (Friday, October 30, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 209 (Friday, October 30, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68549-68550]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-22148]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[N7600; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0044071; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intended Repatriation: Birmingham Museum of Art, 
Birmingham, AL

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 Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA) 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 November 30, 2026.

ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the 
cultural items in this notice to Dr. Anne Forschler-Tarrasch, Director 
of Collections & Exhibitions, Birmingham Museum of Art, 2000 Rev. 
Abraham Woods, Jr. Boulevard, Birmingham, AL 35203, email 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#caabaca5b8b9a9a2a6afb88aabb8beb9a8a7abe4a5b8ad"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b1d0d7dec3c2d2d9ddd4c3f1d0c3c5c2d3dcd09fdec3d6">[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 the 
BMA, 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 five cultural items have been requested for 
repatriation. The one unassociated funerary object is a miniature totem 
pole carved of walrus ivory. The one object of cultural patrimony is a 
spoon. The three sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony are one 
harpoon head, one harpoon point,

[[Page 68550]]

and one spear point. The items were collected on unknown dates from 
unknown locations, possibly in the Arctic and Subarctic. The miniature 
totem pole was collected by Thyrza Hamilton Orr of Birmingham, Alabama 
on an unknown date before 1971. Orr gifted the item to the BMA in 1971. 
The miniature totem pole is documented in museum records as Inupiat or 
Tlingit or Haida. The spoon was collected by Dr. Noble Ashworth 
Endicott, Jr. and Dr. Wilma Jean Gunter Endicott sometime prior to 
1991. The Endicotts donated the item to the BMA in 1991. The spoon is 
documented in museum records as Inupiat. The harpoon head, harpoon 
point, and spear point were collected by Axel Rasmussen, who served as 
superintendent of schools in Wrangell, Alaska from 1926 to 1938, and in 
Skagway from 1938 until his death in 1945. In 1948 the Portland Museum 
of Art purchased the entire Rasmussen Collection. BMA purchased the 
items in 1956. The three items are documented in museum records as 
Inupiat.
    BMA has no knowledge of any potentially hazardous substances used 
to treat the cultural items. However, no testing has occurred.

Determinations

    The BMA has determined that:
    <bullet> The one unassociated funerary object described in this 
notice is 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 object has 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 one object of cultural patrimony described in this 
notice has 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> The three 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 Native Village of Barrow Inupiat Traditional 
Government.

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 November 30, 2026. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the BMA 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 BMA 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: October 22, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-22148 Filed 10-29-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P


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