Notice of Inventory Completion: Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA) has completed an inventory of human remains and has de...
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA) has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES:
Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or after October 9, 2026.
ADDRESSES:
Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains in this notice to Dr. Anne Forschler-Tarrasch, Director of Collections & Exhibitions, Birmingham Museum of Art, 2000 Rev. Abraham Woods, Jr. Blvd., Birmingham, AL 35203, email
aforschler@artsbma.org.
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 BMA, 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. No associated funerary objects are present. Sometime before 1969, Dr. Samuel Fischer III removed human remains from an unknown geographic location. Fischer donated the Ancestors to the BMA in 1969. The Ancestor was donated as part of a larger collection that included Ancestors removed from Detroit, Lamar County, Alabama (repatriated to The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma in December 2025 following consultation and the publication of a Notice of Inventory Completion in the
Federal Register
), as well as material removed from archaeological contexts near Florence, Alabama, and from various locations near the Tennessee
( printed page 57382)
River. Due to Fischer's known collecting activities, the human remains are likely to have been removed from Northern Alabama.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographic location and acquisition history of the human remains described in this notice.
Determinations
BMA has determined that:
The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
There is a connection between the human remains described in this notice and the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Alabama Coushatta Tribe of Texas; Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Jena Band of Choctaw Indians; Kialegee Tribal Town; Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; Poarch Band of Creek Indians; Seminole Tribe of Florida; The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; Thlopthlocco Tribal Town; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains 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 described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after October 9, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, BMA must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains are considered a single request and not competing requests. The BMA 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.
Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.
91 FR 57381
Web Citation
Suggested Web Citation
Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.
“Notice of Inventory Completion: Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL,” thefederalregister.org (September 9, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-18329/notice-of-inventory-completion-birmingham-museum-of-art-birmingham-al.