[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 58577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23016]



[[Page 58577]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[N6671; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041410; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, 
Oshkosh, WI

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 Wisconsin Oshkosh (UWO) 
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 January 16, 2026.

ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains 
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Adrienne Frie, 
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, 800 Algoma Blvd., Oshkosh, WI 54901, 
email [email protected].

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 UWO, 
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

    Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been 
identified. The individual was removed from a site listed as 47-WN-
0086, Winnebago County, WI, which consists of a small cemetery 
associated with the Grignon trading post farmstead. The cemetery is 
known to contain the remains of Lieutenant Robert Grignon, his wife 
Mary, and her son. Robert Grignon was buried in this plot in 1861. 
Historical accounts also support that Robert Grignon shared this land 
with the Menominee so that they could rebury their dead from an 
endangered traditional cemetery. In 1936, Aurther Kannenberg, curator 
of the Oshkosh Public Museum, located the Grignon family plot and 
exhumed three burials identified as Robert Grignon, wife Mary, and 
Mary's father. Many of the remains appear to have ended up in private 
collections. In 1993, Mary Schneider donated the collection of her late 
husband, Dr. Clarence James Schneider, to the University of Wisconsin 
Oshkosh (UWO). At UWO, a small box was found in his collection with the 
label, ``From the Grave of Robert Grignon.'' It is likely that 
Schneider was one of the individuals who stole remains from these 
burials. While it is not possible to confirm the specific identity of 
these remains, it is highly likely they belonged to someone in this 
small cemetery.The two associated funerary objects are one lot of 
coffin wood with nails and one lot of coffin nails.
    Human remains representing, at least, four individuals have been 
identified. The individuals were removed from the site of Gruwell (47-
WN-0130), Winnebago County, WI in the summer of 1969. The landowner 
discovered Ancestral remains and gave them to the Winneconne Historical 
Society. The landowner notified James D. Volkman, an archaeologist 
associated with UWO, and in fall 1969 Volkman visited the site and 
recovered artifacts from the same location of the burials. A large 
portion of the artifacts found date to the Late Historic Period (post-
1760 CE). In 1972, a field crew led by UWO Assistant Professor Alaric 
Faulkner also collected artifacts from the surface of the site. UWO was 
able to relocate the Ancestors removed from the Gruwell site at the 
Winneconne Historical Society and following Tribal guidance, 
transferred legal control of the remains to UWO in 2025 to be 
repatriated with their associated funerary objects. Historical records 
indicate that in the later part of the 18th century into the early 19th 
century there was a Menominee village and cemetery on the shores of the 
Wolf River, where the modern village of Winneconne sits. Euroamerican 
settlement on the east shore of the river forced Menominee groups to 
the west shore. By 1850, the west shore consisted of a few Euroamerican 
houses and an ``Indian'' cemetery, shortly before the village of 
Winneconne incorporated the west bank into the village boundaries. The 
16 associated funerary objects are two lots of lithics; one lot of 
faunal bone; two lots of post contact pottery; one lot of bottle glass; 
one lot of iron nails and fastener; two lots of soil; one stone pipe; 
one Kaolin pipe; one lot of glass beads; one lot of bronze buttons; one 
bronze thimble; one lot of silver brooches; and one copper arm band.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available 
about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in 
this notice.

Determinations

    UWO has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of five individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 18 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.
     There is a connection between the human remains and 
associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Menominee 
Indian Tribe of Wisconsin.

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 January 
16, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, UWO 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. UWO 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: November 24, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-23016 Filed 12-16-25; 8:45 am]
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