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 UWO, 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 and were removed from the Walker-Hooper Site (47-GL-0065), Green Lake County, WI. The collection from this site held by the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UWO) comes from a 1992 field school administered by Carol Mason, then research assistant at UWO. A pedestrian survey collected items from the surface of the site. A member of the field team, Marty Koopman, later that year donated his own collection from the site to UWO, which included Ancestral remains. The ancestors and materials removed from the site are dated between the Late Archaic, Woodland, Late Woodland, Oneota, and post-contact periods. The five associated funerary objects are two lots of faunal remains, one lot of lithics, one lot of pre-contact ceramics, and one lot of post-contact ceramics. No known individuals were identified.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual, have been identified and were removed from the Leach I site (47-WN-0410), Winnebago County, WI. Collections held by UWO that were removed from the Leach I site come from two periods of collection. In 1982, Dr. Victoria Dirst, then Assistant Professor at UWO, was taken to the area by local residents and avocational archaeologists. During this time, Dirst recovered cultural items and ancestral remains from this site. The site was also visited at an unknown time(s) between 1960 and 1996 by the late avocational archaeologists Richard (Dick) and Carol Mason. The Masons donated their private collection to UWO in 2018, which included items removed from this site. The ancestor and materials removed from the site are dated from the early to late Woodland period. The six associated funerary objects are three lots of lithics, two lots of pre-contact ceramics, and one lot of faunal remains. No known individuals were identified.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been identified and were removed from the Leach 2 site (47-WN-0124), Winnebago County, WI. The collection held by UWO from this site comes from investigations in 1972 by J.D. Volkman, then affiliated with Wisconsin State University—Oshkosh (WSU-O), now known as UWO. His investigation was incorporated into Alaric Faulkner's, then Assistant Professor at WSU-O, survey of the Middle Fox River passageway in the early 1970s. Volkman conducted “several” shovel tests at the site, recovering primarily lithics, faunal remains, a few pieces of post-contact ( printed page 46146) pottery, as well as fragmented human remains. The ancestor and materials removed from the site are dated to Late Woodland through post-contact period. The three associated funerary objects are one lot of lithics, one lot of faunal remains, and one lot of post-contact ceramics. No known individuals were identified.

Human remains representing, at least, three individuals have been identified and were removed from the Winkenwerder Site (47-WN-0236), Winnebago County, WI. The site was first reported in a 1980 field survey but was heavily collected by avocational archaeologists Richard (Dick) and Carol Mason for an undetermined amount of time. The Masons donated their private collection to UWO in 2018 and it has since been determined that they removed both cultural materials and human remains from the site of Winkenwerder. The documentation donated by the Masons that accompanied this collection indicates that they did encounter a “burial feature” while investigating the site, in addition to collecting from the surface of a plowed field. Per past Tribal guidance, cultural items that appear to have been removed from the plowed area of the site are also included here as associated funerary objects, given the likelihood of years of plow disturbance and spreading across the site. The ancestors and materials removed from the site are dated between the Oneota and post-contact time period. The nine associated funerary objects are two lots of faunal remains, two lots of lithics, one lot of pre-contact ceramics, one bone artifact, one lot of post-contact ceramics, one lot of post-contact metal, and one lot of other post-contact material. No known individuals were identified.

Human remains representing, at least, five individuals have been identified and were removed from the Commodore Harris Site (47-WN-0874), Winnebago County, WI. In the 1950s, James E. Lundsted and Heinz Meyer, then employees of Oshkosh Public Museum, excavated a burial on “Commodore Harris's land.” The excavation took place as a salvage project following the burial's exposure by wind erosion of a sandy knoll. The burial was described as “a shallow pit burial with red ochre at the bottom. The posture was tight flexion, and no grave goods.” The Ancestral remains were donated to UWO in 1992 by Jack Steinbring, a professor at the University of Winnipeg who had excavated many sites in Wisconsin. In the letter that accompanied the donation no reason was given as to how Steinbring acquired these remains. The few sentences mentioning the site in Steinbring's donation letter is the only documentation from this excavation. This donation was accepted by Jeffery Behm, then Assistant Professor at UWO. A small collection of pre-contact ceramic sherds in Steinbring's donation contained the same writing as the Ancestral remains from this site and are therefore considered to be affiliated with the Ancestors and associated funerary objects. The one associated funerary object is one lot of pre-contact ceramics. No known individuals were identified.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been identified and were removed from the Biebel Lot-Butte des Ports (Village), Winnebago County, WI. This collection is part of the Clarence (Charles) Schneider Collection, a private collection donated to UW-Oshkosh in 1993 by Mary Schneider. The remains and items were associated with the location description, “Biebel Lot—Butte des Morts (Village), Winnebago County, Wisconsin,” by the collector. An exact location that matches this description cannot be located and so the smallest location affiliation is Winnebago County, Wisconsin. The ancestor and material removed from the site are dated to the Oneota period. The two associated funerary objects are one lot of pre-contact ceramics and one lot of faunal remains. No known individuals were identified.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been reasonably identified and were removed from the Cowling site (47-WN-0416), Winnebago County, WI. The ancestor and cultural items were donated to UWO in 2018 by late avocational archaeologists Richard (Dick) and Carol Mason. A portion of their collection is known to be removed from the site in 1988 while another portion has no collection date, but their record indicates they removed items from the surface of a cultivated field. The ancestor and materials removed from the site are dated to the Oneota period. The seven associated funerary objects are two lots of lithics, two lots of pre-contact ceramics, two lots of faunal material, and one lot of bone artifacts. No known individuals were identified.

Human remains representing, at least, 26 individuals have been identified. The individuals were removed from the Bier Site (47-WN-0003/BWN-0150) and the Koehler Site (47-WN-0004/BWN-0151), Winnebago County, WI. These two archaeological sites reside close together on the eastern shore of Rush Lake, and UWO has possession of individuals and items that were removed from these sites on multiple occasions between the 1950s and 1995 and later donated to the university. The ancestors and materials removed from the site are dated to the Archaic, Woodland, Late Woodland, and Oneota time periods. There are 214 associated funerary objects from the Bier and Koehler sites. Of the 214 associated funerary objects, 196 are present and accounted for and 18 are missing. The 214 associated funerary objects are one brass bullet casing; 12 lots of charcoal; one clay pipe; two lots of unidentified faunal bone; two lots of bird bones; two lots of large mammal bones; three lots of mammal bones; one lot of faunal teeth; one lot of glass; 32 lots of decorated grit tempered body sherds; 29 lots of undecorated grit tempered body sherds; 24 lots of decorated grit tempered rim sherds; 14 lots of undecorated grit tempered rim sherds; three Kaolin pipes; 51 lots of lithics; one unidentified mineral; four natural rocks; one net-impressed clay sample; one piece of plastic; three lots of post-contact pottery; one lot of decorated sand tempered body sherds; two lots of decorated sand tempered rim sherds; one lot of decorated shell tempered body sherds; one lot of undecorated shell tempered body sherds; four lots of soil; two lots of unidentified ceramics (missing); two lots of charcoal (missing); 12 lots of lithics (missing); and one lot of unknown material (missing). No known individuals were identified.

Human remains representing, at least, two individuals have been identified. The individuals were removed as a result of the collection practices of Jack Steinbring between his excavation of the Bier and Koehler sites in the 1950s, then donated to UWO. Some of the individuals lacked specific provenience, but based on the information about Steinbring, it is likely they were removed from the Rush Lake area in Winnebago County, WI, potentially even from the Bier or Koehler sites. No associated funerary objects are present. No known individuals were identified.

Cultural Affiliation

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

Determinations

UWO has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of 41 individuals of Native American ancestry. ( printed page 46147)
• The 247 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 Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana; Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation, Wisconsin; Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan; Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana; Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma; Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of the Crow Creek Reservation, South Dakota; Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; Forest County Potawatomi Community, Wisconsin; Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Hannahville Indian Community, Michigan; Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigan; Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas; Kickapoo Tribe of Indians of the Kickapoo Reservation in Kansas; Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma; Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation of Wisconsin; Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Michigan; Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana; Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation, South Dakota; Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi (previously listed as Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan); Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin; Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Six component reservations: Bois Forte Band (Nett Lake); Fond du Lac Band; Grand Portage Band; Leech Lake Band; Mille Lacs Band; White Earth Band); Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, Michigan; Oglala Sioux Tribe; Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma; Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana; Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation; Prairie Island Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, Minnesota; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota; Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa; Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan; Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraska; Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota; Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota; Sokaogon Chippewa Community, Wisconsin; Spirit Lake Tribe, North Dakota; St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota; Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota; Upper Sioux Community, Minnesota; Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska; and the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.

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 August 21, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, UWO 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. UWO 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 46145