Document

Notice of Intended Repatriation: Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Williamsburg, VA

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet ...

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
  1. [N7551; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0043918; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES:

Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on or after November 9, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to Basil Stewart, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, 2110 Jamestown Road, Williamsburg, VA 23185, email .

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 Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation 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 projectile points. The cultural items were removed from the Cascade Mountain region of Washington state at some time prior to 1987 by amateur archaeologist James Coates. The collections of James Coate were donated to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation in 1987.

Determinations

The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation 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, 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 human 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 or Native Hawaiian organization.
  • There is a connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.

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 November 9, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation 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 Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation 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.

Dated: September 30, 2026.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.

[FR Doc. 2026-20571 Filed 10-7-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4312-52-P

Legal Citation

Federal Register Citation

Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.

91 FR 64394

Web Citation

Suggested Web Citation

Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.

“Notice of Intended Repatriation: Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Williamsburg, VA,” thefederalregister.org (October 8, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-20571/notice-of-intended-repatriation-jamestown-yorktown-foundation-williamsburg-va.