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 Missouri Department of Natural Resources, 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 16 individuals have been identified. The 12 associated funerary objects include eight shell beads, two ceramic sherds, one lot debitage, and one lot faunal bone fragments. The human remains and associated funerary objects originated from archaeological site 3PU200, also known as the Nevins Cairn site, in Pulaski County, Missouri. They were excavated by archaeologists on private land in 1981 and were transferred to the MoDNR in 2015.

Human remains representing at least two individuals have been identified. The one associated funerary object is one lot of faunal bone fragments. The human remains and associated funerary object originated from archaeological site 23PU44, also known as Goat Bluff Cave or Bruce Cave, on private property near Jerome, Pulaski County, Missouri. They were unearthed by a private landowner there in the 1950's.

Human remains representing at least four individuals have been identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The human remains originated from an unspecified archaeological site near where the Gasconade River crosses Interstate-44 in Pulaski County, MO. The remains were donated to the Department of Oral Biology at the University of Illinois in Chicago by a former faculty member several decades ago, and were transferred to the MoDNR in 2012.

Human remains representing at least two individuals have been identified. The 198 associated funerary objects include 166 ceramic sherds, one scallorn point, one serrated point, two reworked scrapers, 10 lithic fragments, one miscellaneous rock, one lot debitage, 13 large faunal fragments, two mussel shells, and one bone awl. The human remains and associated funerary objects originated from archaeological site 23PU40, a southwest facing cave commonly known as Doyle Cave, through private archaeological excavation in 1961. All ancestors and belongings were transferred to the Center for Archaeological Research in Springfield, Missouri in 1998, with transfer of all materials to MoDNR completed in 2026.

Human remains representing at least five individuals have been identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The human remains originated from an unspecified cave site on private property in Pulaski County, Missouri, and were donated to the MoDNR in 2002 by the wife of a deceased collector.

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 Missouri Department of Natural Resources has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of at least 29 individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The 211 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 Osage Nation.

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 June 29, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources 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 Missouri Department of Natural Resources 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.

91 FR 31732