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 Met, 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 one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one sacred object is a wooden deity figure ( akua kā'ai) (former Museum accession number 1979.206.1625). The deity figure's provenance connects it to the Hale o Keawe site (the house of Keawe) at the historic site of Hōnaunau on the Big Island of Hawai'i. Consultation and museum records indicate that the deity figure, which is in the `Kona' style, would have been used in ceremonial rites and other religious ceremonies at the Hale o Keawe site to invoke or summon forth ancestor spirits and deities. The item was loaned by Nelson A. Rockefeller to The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, in 1961, and given by bequest to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1979; Mr. Rockefeller acquired the item in 1961 through John J. Klejman, New York.

The Museum is not aware of any potentially hazardous substances used to treat any of the cultural items.

Determinations

The Museum has determined that:

• The one sacred object described in this notice is a specific ceremonial object needed by a traditional Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional Native American religion, according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization.
• A known lineal descendant is connected to the cultural item described in this notice. This determination was made pursuant to43 CFR 10.9(h)(4) following receipt of competing request for repatriation of the cultural item described in this notice.

Requests for Repatriation

Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural item 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 item in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after October 16, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Museum must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the cultural item are considered a single request and not competing requests. The Museum is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to all requestors and 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 58699