Kansas State NAGPRA Notice: Human Remains and Funerary Objects Inventory

Notice

Notice of Inventory Completion: Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, KS

A Notice by the National Park Service on 04/16/2026

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• Public Inspection Published Document: 2026-07379 (91 FR 20482) Document Headings ###### Department of the Interior

National Park Service

1. [N7084; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042600; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Kansas State Historical Society (KSHS) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice may occur on or after May 18, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice to Dr. Nicole Klarmann, Kansas State Historical Society, 6425 SW 6th Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615-1099, email kshs.nagpra@ks.gov.

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 KSHS, 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 from either Logan or Gove County, KS (UBS 2007-13). No associated funerary objects are present. Partial remains were removed by George Sternberg from along Hackberry Creek sometime in the early 1900s. They were given to the University of Alberta which then transferred the remains to KSHS in 2007. ( printed page 20483)

Human remains representing, at least, three individuals have been identified from Rooks County, KS (UBS 1991-33). The 52 associated funerary objects are a sherd, a chipped stone tool, and shell beads. Human remains that had previously been disturbed by plowing and pothunting were excavated by KSHS in 1968. The burials were located on a terrace near the South Fork Solomon River.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been identified in Rooks County, KS (UBS 1992-06). The 21 associated funerary objects are pottery sherds, a flint chip, and a nutting tool. The burial was removed from a road cut on a ridge near Bow Creek by a KSHS archeologist in 1967.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been identified from Rooks County, KS (UBS 1997-07). No associated funerary objects are present. A hunter encountered human remains exposed by erosion near Paradise Creek and contacted local law enforcement. The Rooks County Sheriff contacted KSHS who then excavated the burial in 1997.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been identified in Sheridan County, KS (UBS 1990-26). The 3,051 associated funerary objects are iron tinklers, beads, shell hair pipes, iron buckles and rings, textile fragments, buttons, a leather strap, feather fragments, metal bells, brass chain and coils, and wooden burial pole fragments. Fragmented human remains were found eroding from a cutbank near Sand Creek by a local high school student and were then excavated by a KSHS archeologist in 1965.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been identified from Sheridan County, KS (UBS 2003-02). The four associated funerary objects are a grinding slab, a fragmented bone tool, a flake, and a mussel shell. A hunter encountered human remains eroding from a cutbank near Museum Creek. The local sheriff was called and then notified KSHS. KSHS excavated the burial in 2003.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been identified from Sheridan County, KS (UBS 2024-09). The 17 associated funerary objects are rocks, a core, modified flakes, stone tools, and debitage. Human bone was found within a surface collection from a pre-historic campsite near the Saline River. The remains and objects were given to KSHS in 1991.

Human remains representing, at least, two individuals have been identified from Trego County, KS (UBS 1990-15). No associated funerary objects are present. Human remains were first found during excavation of a trench silo in approximately 1985. More remains were found later and given to a local school teacher who eventually transferred them to KSHS under the state UBS act in 1990.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been identified from Trego County, KS (UBS 1991-71). The 14 associated funerary objects are a boatstone, plaster casts, seeds, insect pupae, a shell bead, charred twigs, and a bag of silt. KSHS excavated the burial from an eroding cutbank near the Saline River in 1972. In 1988, the landowner's family conveyed the entirety of the remains they had previously removed to KSHS.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been identified from Wichita County, KS (UBS 1990-35). The two associated funerary objects are a metal rivet and a bison molar. Partial remains located near White Woman Creek were initially thought to be a criminal case, as they appeared to have been disturbed or part of a secondary burial, however they were determined to not be medico-legally significant and transferred to KSHS in 1990.

Human remains representing, at least, five individuals have been identified from Wichita County, KS (UBS 1991-13). The 6,347 associated funerary objects are glass and porcelain beads, an iron arrow tip, shell ornaments, and copper jewelry. These burials were removed from a cave near Beaver Creek. A resident of Leoti, KS gave the remains and objects to KSHS in 1894.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been identified from Wichita County, KS (UBS 2009-01). The 32 associated funerary objects are animal bone, shell, and debitage. Human bone was found within a collection given to KSHS in 2007 by an archeologist from Lincoln, NE.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been identified from Grant County, KS (UBS 1996-22). The two associated funerary objects are non-human bone. Human remains were found eroding from a cutbank near the Cimarron River in 1996 from a pre-contact habitation site and a historic campsite.

To our knowledge, no known hazardous substances were used to treat any of the human remains or 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 KSHS has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of 20 individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The 9,542 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 Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma and the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco, & Tawakonie), Oklahoma.

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 May 18, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the KSHS 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 KSHS 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.

Dated: April 8, 2026.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.

[FR Doc. 2026-07379 Filed 4-15-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4312-52-P

Published Document: 2026-07379 (91 FR 20482)