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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, and Michigan State University 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, seven individuals have been identified. The 392 associated funerary objects are three lots architectural debris, 16 lots beads, one lot bifaces, one lot bolts, one lot bone tools, four lots botanicals, one lot bottle caps, one lot brass objects, one lot brass tacks, 16 lots brick, one lot brooches, one lot buckles, one bullet, one lot burlap, 10 lots buttons, 14 lots ceramics, seven lots charcoal, five lots cloth, two lots coal, one comb, one lot copper awls, one lot copper ingots, one lot crockery, one lot decorative brass, one lot decorative metal, one lot door knobs, one lot door pulls, one drain tile, 33 lots faunal remains, two lots fire cracked rock, two lots flotation samples, 32 lots glass, one lot glass bottles, one lot grinding stones, six lot gun flints, one hairbrush, one harmonica, eight lots historic ceramics, one historic lightbulb, one lot historic refitted ceramics, two lots iron, one lot kettle fragments, one lot knife blades, two lots lead shot, one lot leather shoes, 26 lots lithics, two lots marbles, 38 lots metal, one metal can, one lot metal strapping, one lot mica, five lots miscellaneous historic material, six lots mortar, one musket ball, 50 lots nails, one lot peach pits, one pencil, two lots pendants, one lot personal objects, 15 lots pipe fragments, one lot plastic, one pocket watch, three lots porcelain, one lot rings, one lot safety pins, one lot samples, one scissors, three lots shell, one lot shingles, three lots slag, one lot slate panels, three lots soil samples, one spoon, one lot stoneware, one lot stone tools, one lot suspender fragments, one thimble, five lots tinklers, one toothbrush, one toy gun, one lot transferware, one lot waffle iron fragments, three lots wire, nine lots wood, one wood sample, one wooden sill with soil, and one wood with soil.

Collections from Fort Brady, and its predecessor, Fort Repentigny, are associated with site number 20CH51, from Chippewa County, Michigan, and are dated to excavation years from 1967, 1976-1977 and 1989-1990. Site 20CH51 has previously been returned to the Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians; a Notice of Inventory Completion was published in the Federal Register by Michigan State University on September 11, 2020 (85 FR 56269). The collections are curated at Michigan State University and are not known to have been treated with any hazardous materials.

Cultural Affiliation

Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, and Michigan State University have determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of seven individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The 392 lots and 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 Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan.

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 ( printed page 35550) 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 July 13, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, and Michigan State University 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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, and Michigan State University are 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 35549