[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 7, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 532-533]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00071]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[N6842; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041702; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intended Repatriation: University of Florida, Florida 
Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL

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 Florida-Florida Museum of 
Natural History (FLMNH) 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 February 6, 2026.

ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the 
cultural

[[Page 533]]

items in this notice to David Blackburn, University of Florida, Florida 
Museum of Natural History, 1659 Museum Road, Gainesville, FL 32611, 
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 the 
FLMNH, 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 approximately 144 cultural items have been requested for 
repatriation. The 144 unassociated funerary objects (83-13; A19949) 
include faceted glass beads in red, orange, blue, yellow and green of 
approximately 3.8x4mm in diameter, round purple and clear beads in 
4x4mm, and opaque 4x5mm beads. The catalog records indicate that these 
beads were removed from a ``modern Seminole burial around 1950'' 
somewhere along Loop Road of Monroe County, although the exact location 
of the burial is unknown. They were transferred to the FLMNH from the 
University of Florida Department of Anthropology in 1977. There are no 
known hazardous or potentially hazardous substances. Through the 
process of consultation, the site has been determined to be culturally 
affiliated with the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, the 
Seminole Nation of Florida, and the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

Determinations

    The FLMNH has determined that:
     The approximately 144 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.
     There is a connection between the cultural items described 
in this notice and the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

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 February 6, 2026. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the FLMNH 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 FLMNH 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: December 18, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-00071 Filed 1-6-26; 8:45 am]
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