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 BLM, and additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

Based on the information available, human remains representing at least 35 individuals have been reasonably identified at Arizona State University's Center for Archaeology and Society Repository (ASU). No associated funerary objects are present. The ancestors were excavated or collected between 1970-1973 from four known sites on Akun and Akutan islands in the eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska, including Amatanan (49-UNI-00056) ( printed page 72897) (MNI=2), Chulka (49-UNI-00002) (MNI=20), Saa (49-UNI-00048) (MNI=10), Siskena (49-UNI-00008) (MNI=2), and one more from either Saa or Siskena. A clear coat of an unknown substance had been applied to some of the ancestral remains. The substance may be polyvinyl acetate, given that we know this substance was used by ASU's Laboratory of Physical Anthropology in the 1980s.

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

BLM has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of at least 35 individuals of Native American ancestry.
• There is a reasonable connection between the human remains described in this notice and the Native Village of Akutan.

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 a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.

Repatriation of the human remains in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after December 14, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, BLM 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. BLM is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.

Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.

91 FR 72896