Notice of Intended Repatriation: Dearborn Historical Museum, Dearborn, MI

[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 73 (Thursday, April 16, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Page 20482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-07384]



[[Page 20482]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[N7086; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042607; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intended Repatriation: Dearborn Historical Museum, 
Dearborn, MI

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 Dearborn Historical Museum intends to 
repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of sacred 
objects/objects of cultural patrimony 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 May 18, 2026.

ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the 
cultural items in this notice to Karely Byrd-Nowsch, Dearborn 
Historical Museum, 915 S Brady Street, Dearborn, MI 48124, email 
kbyrdnowsch@dearborn.gov.

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 
Dearborn Historical Museum 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 two cultural items have been requested for repatriation. 
The two sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony are one basket 
sifter and one pair of moccasins. The basket comes from a collection 
that was donated to the museum in 1956 by the Logan Museum of 
Anthropology at Beloit College in Wisconsin. Records for this object 
state it is of Iroquois origin. The record states no additional 
acquisition information originating from the Logan Museum of 
Anthropology. The pair of moccasins comes from a collection donated to 
the museum in 1963 by Floyd Haight. The moccasins had been given to his 
sister-in-law who had worked at Stewart Boarding School near Carson 
City, NV. Record stated that the moccasins were believed to be worn by 
Paiutes, upon consultation it was determined the cultural affiliation 
as Haudenosaunee. Further consultation confirmed cultural affiliation. 
The Dearborn Historical Museum reports no known presence of any 
hazardous substances on either object; hazardous treatments have not 
been historically used at the Dearborn Historical Museum.

Determinations

    The Dearborn Historical Museum has determined that:
    •  The two sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony 
described in this notice are, according to the Native American 
traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization, specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional 
Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice 
traditional Native American religion, and have ongoing historical, 
traditional, or cultural importance central to the Native American 
group, including any constituent sub-group (such as a band, clan, 
lineage, ceremonial society, or other subdivision).
    •  There is a connection between the cultural items described 
in this notice and the Seneca Nation of Indians.

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 May 18, 2026. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the Dearborn Historical Museum 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 Dearborn Historical 
Museum 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: April 8, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-07384 Filed 4-15-26; 8:45 am]
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