[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 78 (Thursday, April 23, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Page 21846]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-07950]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[N7100; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042659; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Indiana University, Bloomington, 
IN

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Indiana University 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 May 26, 2026.

ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains 
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Dr. Jayne-Leigh 
Thomas, Indiana University, Office of the Native American Graves 
Protection and Repatriation Act, Student Building 318, 701 E. Kirkwood 
Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, 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 
Indiana University 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, 17 individuals and 13 
associated funerary objects from various sites in Kentucky have been 
identified.
    There is one lot of beads from an unknown location in Graves 
County, Kentucky.
    There are five associated funerary objects (one lot of ceramics, 
one lot of worked shell, one lot of lithics, one lot of faunal bone and 
one lot of worked bone) excavated an unknown location named 
`Rockshelter' in 1931 in Russell County, Kentucky.
    There are nine individuals and two associated funerary objects (one 
lot of worked bone, one lot of faunal bones) from an unknown site in 
Kentucky. This collection was donated to IU from Dr. C.C. Kennedy of 
Ohio State University on an unknown date.
    There is one individual and one associated funerary object (one lot 
faunal bone) found in 1946 from the Nugent Farm site in Henderson 
County, Kentucky.
    There are three associated funerary objects (one lot shell, one lot 
copper, one lot fiber) from an unknown location in Kentucky that was 
donated as a part of the Plank Collection to IU.
    There is one individual and one lot of lithics from an unknown site 
near Leavenworth, Kentucky. This collection was received in 1989.
    There are five individuals from unknown locations in Daviess and 
Henderson Counties, Kentucky. These were donated to IU in 1999 by 
George Martin.
    There is one individual from an unknown site labeled `Rockshelter' 
in Christian County, Kentucky.

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

    Indiana University has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 17 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 13 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 Absentee-
Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of 
Cherokee Indians; Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Peoria Tribe of Indians of 
Oklahoma; Quapaw Nation; Shawnee Tribe; The Osage Nation; and the 
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.

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 May 26, 
2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, Indiana 
University 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. Indiana University 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: April 17, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-07950 Filed 4-22-26; 8:45 am]
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