Notice of Inventory Completion for Illinois State Museum

Notice

Notice of Inventory Completion: Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL

A Notice by the National Park Service on 03/27/2026

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• Public Inspection Published Document: 2026-05968 (91 FR 14868) Document Headings ###### Department of the Interior

National Park Service

1. [N7027; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042485; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

( printed page 14869)

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Illinois State Museum has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes in this notice.

DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or after April 27, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains in this notice to Dr. Brooke M. Morgan, Illinois State Museum Research & Collections Center, 1011 East Ash Street, Springfield, IL 62703, email brooke.morgan@illinois.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 Illinois State Museum, 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 minimum, 16 individuals have been identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The human remains were removed from the Fisher Site (11WI5), Will County, IL, by George Langford and by the University of Chicago on an unknown date prior to 1941. They were part of the University of Chicago teaching collection until 1948. They were then in private hands until 2007, when they were donated to the Illinois State Museum. They were not recognized as being from the Fisher site until a collections review in 2026. The human remains date to the Upper Mississippian period of site occupation. No hazardous substances are known to have been used to treat any of the human remains.

Cultural Affiliation

Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available about the human remains described in this notice.

Determinations

The Illinois State Museum has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of at least 16 individuals of Native American ancestry.
• There is a connection between the human remains described in this notice and the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Forest County Potawatomi Community, Wisconsin; Hannahville Indian Community, Michigan; Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas; Kickapoo Tribe of Indians of the Kickapoo Reservation in Kansas; Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma; Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi (previously listed as Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan); Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Fond du Lac Band; Mille Lacs Band); Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, Michigan; Omaha Tribe of Nebraska; Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma; Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana; Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation; Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa; Shawnee Tribe; and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.

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 identified in this notice.

2. Any lineal descendant or Indian Tribe not identified in this notice who shows, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a lineal descendant or an Indian Tribe with cultural affiliation.

Repatriation of the human remains described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after April 27, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Illinois State Museum 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. The Illinois State Museum is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes 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.

Dated: March 20, 2026.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.

[FR Doc. 2026-05968 Filed 3-26-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4312-52-P

Published Document: 2026-05968 (91 FR 14868)