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 Rhode Island, 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

Barrington Case

Human remains representing, at least, one individual has been identified. The three associated funerary objects are glass vials containing soil samples. This individual was transferred by local law enforcement to the Rhode Island State Crime Laboratory at the University of Rhode Island sometime between 1958 and 1969 for evaluation. Once determined not to be of forensic concern, the Ancestor was transferred to the University's Department of Sociology & Anthropology. The only surviving documentation is a note by Dr. Harold C. Harrison, Director of the Crime Lab reading: “Bones from Medical Examiner's Office—Barrington case—age, sex, and as much as possible including time (approx. since death).” Efforts to obtain additional information through the Barrington Police Department, the Rhode Island Medical Examiner's Office, and the Crime Lab archives have yielded no results. During osteological and cultural assessments in the 1980s, URI faculty determined that the individual was of Native American descent, and that brass staining on the ( printed page 68548) remains suggests a post-contact context. Three small glass vials containing soil, presumed to have been collected from the burial context, are included with the individual and recorded as associated funerary objects.

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 and associated funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

The University of Rhode Island has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
• The three objects described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony.
• There is a connection between the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe; Narragansett Indian Tribe; and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 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 and associated funerary objects described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after November 30, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the University of Rhode Island must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing requests. The University of Rhode Island 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 68547