Notice of Inventory Completion: Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, KS

[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 73 (Thursday, April 16, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20489-20490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-07386]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[N7085; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042601; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Kansas State Historical Society, 
Topeka, KS

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 Kansas State Historical Society (KSHS) 
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 18, 2026.

ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains 
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Dr. Nicole Klarmann, 
Kansas State Historical Society, 6425 SW 6th Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615-
1099, email kshs.nagpra@ks.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 
KSHS, 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 from Norton County, KS (UBS 2022-02). No associated funerary 
objects are present. Partial remains were recovered by a local deputy 
and initially considered a forensic case. They were determined not to 
be medico-legally significant by a forensic anthropologist and were 
transferred to KSHS in 2022. No other provenience information is 
available.
    Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been 
identified from Rawlins County, KS (UBS 1989-03). The eight associated 
funerary objects are chipped stone tools and mollusk shells. The 
landowner was trenching part of their property and

[[Page 20490]]

came across the burial. They stopped their work and backfilled the 
remainder of the trench. The remains and items were transferred to KSHS 
in 1988.
    Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been 
identified in Rawlins County, KS (UBS 1989-18A). No associated funerary 
objects are present. A construction company found partial human remains 
in a sand pit near Atwood, KS and gave them to the Sternberg Museum in 
1950. The Sternberg Museum transferred them to KSHS in 1989.
    Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been 
identified from Rawlins County, KS (UBS 1989-21). No associated 
funerary objects are present. Human remains were exposed by a bulldozer 
and removed during excavation of a farm pond in 1967. They were given 
to the Rawlins County Historical Society and then transferred to KSHS 
in 1989.
    To our knowledge, no known hazardous substances were used to treat 
any of the human remains or associated funerary objects.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical 
location or acquisition history of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

    The KSHS has determined that:
    •  The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of four individuals of Native American ancestry.
    •  The eight 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 Cheyenne 
and Arapaho Tribes, 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 18, 
2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the KSHS 
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. The KSHS 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 8, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-07386 Filed 4-15-26; 8:45 am]
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