Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI

Issuing agencies

Abstract

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of Rhode Island 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 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 209 (Friday, October 30, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 209 (Friday, October 30, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68547-68548]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-22156]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[N7605; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0044079; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Rhode Island, 
Kingston, RI

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 University of Rhode Island 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 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 November 30, 2026.

ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains 
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Kristine M. Bovy, 
Department of Sociology & Anthropology, University of Rhode Island, 507 
Chafee Bldg., Kingston, RI 02881, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#86ede4e9f0ffc6f3f4efa8e3e2f3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d8b3bab7aea198adaab1f6bdbcad">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>, and The Office 
of the General Counsel, 35 Campus Avenue, Kingston, RI 02881, email 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0653544f4163686374676a4569736875636a4673746f28636273"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dc898e959bb9b2b9aebdb09fb3a9b2afb9b09ca9aeb5f2b9b8a9">[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 
University of Rhode Island, 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

Barrington Case

    Human remains representing, at least, one individual has been 
identified. The three associated funerary objects are glass vials 
containing soil samples. This individual was transferred by local law 
enforcement to the Rhode Island State Crime Laboratory at the 
University of Rhode Island sometime between 1958 and 1969 for 
evaluation. Once determined not to be of forensic concern, the Ancestor 
was transferred to the University's Department of Sociology & 
Anthropology. The only surviving documentation is a note by Dr. Harold 
C. Harrison, Director of the Crime Lab reading: ``Bones from Medical 
Examiner's Office--Barrington case--age, sex, and as much as possible 
including time (approx. since death).'' Efforts to obtain additional 
information through the Barrington Police Department, the Rhode Island 
Medical Examiner's Office, and the Crime Lab archives have yielded no 
results. During osteological and cultural assessments in the 1980s, URI 
faculty determined that the individual was of Native American descent, 
and that brass staining on the

[[Page 68548]]

remains suggests a post-contact context. Three small glass vials 
containing soil, presumed to have been collected from the burial 
context, are included with the individual and recorded as associated 
funerary objects.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical 
location or acquisition history of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

    The University of Rhode Island has determined that:
    <bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
    <bullet> The three 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 Mashpee 
Wampanoag Tribe; Narragansett Indian Tribe; and the Wampanoag Tribe of 
Gay Head (Aquinnah).

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 November 
30, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the 
University of Rhode Island 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 University of Rhode Island 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: October 22, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-22156 Filed 10-29-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P


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