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 WSWM, 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 eight cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The eight unassociated funerary objects are one double grooved axe, one bone handle, one lot botanics, two lots textiles, one bone drift, one net sinker and one bone awl. Site 15LE1, Red Eye Hollow in Lee County, Kentucky was excavated in 1929 by Webb and Funkhouser from the University of Kentucky. No known hazardous substances are present.

A total of three cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The three unassociated funerary objects are two shell spoons and one bone handle. Site 15LE2, Little Ash Cave in Lee County, Kentucky was excavated in 1929 by Webb and Funkhouser from the University of Kentucky. No known hazardous substances are present.

A total of 71 cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The 71 unassociated funerary objects are one lot bone awls, one lot faunal, one lot sherds, six bifaces, three drills, 34 projectile points, one lot lithic, 22 scrapers, one stone gorget fragment and one stone pipe bowl fragment. Site 15LE139, Ox Barn Hollow Rockshelter in Lee County, Kentucky was excavated in 1968 by a private collector who donated to the WSWM in 1991. No known hazardous substances are present.

A total of nine cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The nine unassociated funerary objects are one modified antler, one lot bone awls, one granite grooved axe, one limestone celt, one lot antler flakers, one lot hematite, one lot modified bone, one piece red ochre and one groundstone pipe bowl fragment. Site 15RO34, Deep Rockshelter in Rowan County, Kentucky was excavated in 1969 by the University of Kentucky Museum of Anthropology following a survey of vandalized rockshelters in Rowan County. No known hazardous substances are present.

Determinations

The WSWM has determined that:

• The 91 unassociated funerary objects described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near human remains, and are connected, either at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony of a Native American culture according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. The unassociated funerary objects have been identified by a preponderance of the evidence as related to human remains, specific individuals, or families, or removed from a specific burial site or burial area of an individual or individuals with cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
• There is a connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Shawnee Tribe; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.

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 WSWM 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 WSWM 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.

91 FR 35553