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 University of Kansas 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. The remains, a scalp, were transferred to the University of Kansas on June 7, 1956. It had been sent to the university by Alexander Rankin of Mission, Kansas, possibly a descendant of the original collector, also named Alexander Rankin. According to provenance records, the scalp was reportedly taken by the Osage in a raid on a Plains Tribe. An Osage Chief gave the scalp to Alexander Rankin around 1872. Rankin, a U.S. Licensed Indian Trader with the ( printed page 66728) Sac and Fox Tribe of Quenemo, Kansas, had opened a trading post in 1872 at the Osage Agency, present-day Pawhuska, Oklahoma. There are no known chemical treatments to the human 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 University of Kansas 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 Osage Nation.

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 University of Kansas 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 University of Kansas 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 66727