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 History Colorado, 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 15 cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The 15 sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony are a beaded pouch, a buckskin shirt, an eagle bone whistle, a headdress, two standard pipes, a claw necklace, a tomahawk pipe, three tomahawks, a pipe bag, a bone war whistle, a chekpa pouch, and a woman's pipe. All cultural items in this Notice were acquired from the collection of Stephen Olop, who served as a Superintendent for the Office of Indian Affairs in South Dakota during the early 1900's. During his tenure, Olop assembled a large collection of Native American cultural items directly from reservations and was also known to purchase items acquired during the “Indian Wars”. Beginning in 1915, Olop donated portions of his collections to History Colorado (then the Colorado Historical Society). Several objects in the Olop Collection have tested positive for contamination and heavy metals. These cultural items were stored with the contaminated items and should be considered potentially contaminated due to their shared storage history.

Determinations

The History Colorado has determined that:

• The 15 sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony described in this notice are, according to the Native American traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization, specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional Native American religion, and 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).
• There is a connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

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, History Colorado 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. History Colorado 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 52330