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NPS Notice of Intended Repatriation: Museum of Fine Arts Boston

FR: Interior Department

Published March 19th, 2026

Detected March 19th, 2026

Summary

The National Park Service has published a Notice of Intended Repatriation concerning cultural items held by the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. This notice is part of the process under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).

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What changed

The National Park Service (NPS), on behalf of the Department of the Interior, has issued a Notice of Intended Repatriation regarding cultural items in the possession of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. This action is taken under the authority of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and signifies the NPS's intent to repatriate specific cultural items to their affiliated tribes.

Regulated entities, particularly museums and institutions holding Native American cultural items, should be aware of this notice as it pertains to the NAGPRA process. While this specific notice concerns one institution, it highlights ongoing repatriation efforts. No immediate action is required from other entities unless they are involved in a similar repatriation process. The notice indicates that repatriation may occur on or after April 20, 2026.

What to do next

Review NPS notice for specific cultural items and affiliated tribes.
Monitor ongoing NAGPRA repatriation processes.

Source document (simplified)

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Notice

Notice of Intended Repatriation: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA

A Notice by the National Park Service on 03/19/2026

Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agencies Department of the Interior National Park Service Agency/Docket Numbers N6997 NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042351 PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000 Document Citation 91 FR 13330 Document Number 2026-05376 Document Type Notice Page 13330
(1 page) Publication Date 03/19/2026 Published Content - Document Details
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Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agencies Department of the Interior National Park Service Agency/Docket Numbers N6997 NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042351 PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000 Document Citation 91 FR 13330 Document Number 2026-05376 Document Type Notice Page 13330
(1 page) Publication Date 03/19/2026 Published Content - Document Details
Document Dates Published Content - Document Dates Dates Text Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on or after April 20, 2026. Published Content - Document Dates
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- AGENCY:
- ACTION:
- SUMMARY:
- DATES:
- ADDRESSES:
- SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
- Abstract of Information Available
- Determinations
- Requests for Repatriation Enhanced Content - Table of Contents
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Department of the Interior

National Park Service

[N6997; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042351; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, and/or objects of cultural patrimony 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 April 20, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to Victoria Reed, Bettina Burr Chair for Provenance, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, email vreed@mfa.org.

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 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 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 eight cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The six sacred objects include one war bonnet, two pairs of moccasins (four moccasins total) and three pairs of leggings (six leggings total). The two objects of cultural patrimony are eagle whistles. The moccasins were given to the MFA by collectors Sarah Spooner and Denman Waldo Ross in 1893 and 1902, respectively, and have been catalogued as Sioux. The leggings were gifts of Ross in 1902 and were likewise catalogued as Sioux. No earlier collecting history for these items is available. The war bonnet was given to the MFA by Gretel Anspach in 2003 and catalogued as Plains. It had been acquired by the donor's family from a New York dealer or collector, and its provenance before the 1960s is not known. The eagle whistles were purchased by the MFA in 1984 and catalogued as Great Plains. They were said to come from sources in New England but otherwise have no documented ownership history.

Determinations

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has determined that:

The six sacred objects described in this notice are specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional Native American religion, according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization.
The two objects of cultural patrimony described in this notice have ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the Native American group, including any constituent sub-group (such as a band, clan, lineage, ceremonial society, or other subdivision), according to the Native American traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
There is a connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana.

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 April 20, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 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 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 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.

Dated: March 11, 2026.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.

[FR Doc. 2026-05376 Filed 3-18-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4312-52-P

Published Document: 2026-05376 (91 FR 13330)