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 University of Michigan, 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 unassociated funerary objects are one lot of red ochre; and two lots of charred textile fragments. The one lot of red ochre was removed by an amateur collector from the Muskalonge Lake site in Jefferson County, New York, between 1949-1951, and donated to the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropological Archaeology (UMMAA) in 1951. The site dates to the Early Meadowood Phase (Early Woodland Period), 1000 BC-600 BC based on the diagnostic artifact.

The two lots of charred textile fragments were removed from the White site in Chenango County, New York, by amateur collectors in 1947, and donated to the UMMAA in 1950. Dating for the site is to the Early Owasco period (terminal Middle Woodland period), A.D. 880-1000 based on diagnostic artifacts.

The University of Michigan has no record of, nor do its officials have any knowledge of, any treatment of the cultural items with pesticides, preservatives, or other substances that represent a potential hazard to the collections or to persons handling the collections.

Determinations

The University of Michigan has determined that:

• The three unassociated funerary objects described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near human remains (hereinafter referred to as “Ancestral 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 Ancestral 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.
• There is a connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Oneida Indian Nation.

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 September 14, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the University of Michigan 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 University of Michigan 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 52332