Notice of Intended Repatriation: Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Milwaukee Public Museum intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the de...
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Milwaukee Public Museum intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of 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 July 13, 2026.
ADDRESSES:
Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to Dawn Scher Thomae, Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W. Wells Street, Milwaukee, WI 53233, email
thomae@mpm.edu.
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 Milwaukee Public 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 three cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The three objects of cultural patrimony are arrows with obsidian projectile points. The arrows were purchased by the Milwaukee Public Museum from W.J. Clark of Santa Barbara, California in 1903. They were originally attributed to the “Digger Indians” and in 1995 were attributed by a previous museum curator as “possibly Nisenan”. There was no other specific provenience originally noted other than “California”. The Milwaukee Public Museum has no specific information about the above items being treated with pesticides or preservatives that may represent a potential hazard. However, we do know that other items in the collection, mainly clothing and textiles, were treated with chemicals by our museum in the first part of the 20th century.
Determinations
The Milwaukee Public Museum has determined that:
The three objects of cultural patrimony described in this notice 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), according to the Native American traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
There is a connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract), California and the Wilton Rancheria, California.
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 July 13, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Milwaukee Public 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 Milwaukee Public Museum is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in
( printed page 35553)
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.