Notice of Intended Repatriation: Putnam Museum and Science Center, Davenport, IA

Issuing agencies

Abstract

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Putnam Museum and Science Center intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects 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 68544-68545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-22159]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[N7608; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0044100; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intended Repatriation: Putnam Museum and Science 
Center, Davenport, IA

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 Putnam Museum and Science Center intends 
to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of 
unassociated funerary objects 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 Hailey Lorenzen,

[[Page 68545]]

Putnam Museum and Science Center, 1717 W 12th Street, Davenport, IA 
52804, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fb939794899e95819e95bb8b8e8f959a96d594899c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="492125263b2c27332c2709393c3d27282467263b2e">[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 
Putnam Museum and Science Center 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 28 cultural items have been requested for repatriation. 
The 28 unassociated funerary objects are ceramics, beads, a spear 
point, and shell cups and digging tools. This number includes 11 
unassociated funerary objects that are missing, including one ceramic, 
one lot of shell beads, and nine shell cups.
    In 1926, Warren K. Moorehead removed one shell cup and two ceramics 
from burial contexts in the Etowah Mound group in Bartow County, GA, 
and donated them to the Museum the same year.
    In 1904, Clarence B. Moore removed one lot of shell beads, two 
shell cups, and one spear point from burials in a mound on the north 
end of Creighton Island, McIntosh County, GA, and one lot of shell 
beads, and 20 shell cups and digging tools from burial contexts in 
Bourbon Field, Sapelo Island, in McIntosh County, GA and donated them 
to the Museum the same year.
    The Putnam Museum and Science Center has no evidence of potentially 
hazardous substances being used to treat any of the unassociated 
funerary objects.

Determinations

    The Putnam Museum and Science Center has determined that:
    <bullet> The 28 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> There is a connection between the cultural items described 
in this notice and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

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 Putnam Museum and Science Center 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 Putnam Museum and 
Science Center 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. 2026-22159 Filed 10-29-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P


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