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 BIA, 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 has been identified. No associated funerary objects are present. In 2024, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, was contacted by an individual in California who discovered an Ancestral skull, including cranium and mandible, among her father-in-law's belongings following his passing in 2021. The individual shared a family oral history indicating that the Ancestral skull had been removed by her father-in-law from the Fort Randall Dam area in Gregory ( printed page 66730) County and Charles Mix County, South Dakota, during his work on the dam's construction between 1945 and 1947. The individual expressed a desire to repatriate the Ancestral skull and requested that the BIA take the lead in facilitating this process. In March 2025, the BIA subsequently coordinated with the NAGPRA team at the UCLA Fowler Museum to temporarily house the Ancestral skull on a short-term loan, enabling the Bureau to initiate consultation with the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota regarding repatriation. At this time, it is unknown whether any potentially hazardous substances were used to treat the Ancestral remains.

Cultural Affiliation

Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical location or acquisition history of the human remains described in this notice.

Determinations

The BIA 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 Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.

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 November 23, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the BIA 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 BIA 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.

91 FR 66729