Notice of Intended Repatriation: William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology, University of Kentucky (WSWM) intends to repa...
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology, University of Kentucky (WSWM) 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 December 14, 2026.
ADDRESSES:
Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to Dr. Celise Chilcote-Fricker, William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology, University of Kentucky, 1020 Export Street, Lexington, KY 40504, email
celise.fricker@uky.edu.
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 WSWM, 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 one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one unassociated funerary object is one lot ceramic. Site 15CWxx, an unknown site from Calloway County, Kentucky, was looted by a private collector who donated to Webb in 1932. No known hazardous substances are present.
A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one unassociated funerary object is one lot ceramic. Site 15FUxx, an unknown site in Fulton County, Kentucky was looted by a private collector in 1900 who donated to Webb at an unknown time. No known hazardous substances are present.
A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one unassociated funerary object is a ceramic vessel. This vessel was taken from a grave at site 15FU03, the Sassafras Ridge/Tyler Mound site in Fulton County, Kentucky, under unknown circumstances and donated to the Tennessee Division of Archaeology in 1989, who then donated it to the WSWM in 2016. No known hazardous substances are present.
A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one unassociated funerary object is an effigy sherd. Site 15FU04, the Adams site in Fulton County, Kentucky, was surveyed and surface collected from 1978 to 1979 as part of the Great River Road project by the Department of Transportation. No known hazardous substances are present.
A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one unassociated funerary object is one lot ceramic. Site 15HIxx, an unknown site in Hickman County, Kentucky was looted by a private collector who donated to Webb at an unknown time. No known hazardous substances are present.
A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one unassociated funerary object is one lot ceramic. Site 15HI01, the McLeod Bluff Site in Hickman County, Kentucky was looted at an unknown time and artifacts donated to Webb in 1932. No known hazardous substances are present.
Determinations
The WSWM has determined that:
The six 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 Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and The Chickasaw Nation.
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 December 14, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the WSWM 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 WSWM 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.
Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.
91 FR 72898
Web Citation
Suggested Web Citation
Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.
“Notice of Intended Repatriation: William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY,” thefederalregister.org (November 12, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-22994/notice-of-intended-repatriation-william-s-webb-museum-of-anthropology-university-of-kentucky-lexington-ky.
25 U.S.C. 3004
43 CFR 10.9