Notice

Notice of Inventory Completion: Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV

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

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• Public Inspection Published Document: 2026-05975 (91 FR 14877) Document Headings ###### Department of the Interior

National Park Service

1. [N7022; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042480; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Huntington Museum of Art (HMoA) 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 April 27, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice to Liz Simmons, Executive Director, HMoA, 2033 McCoy Road, Huntington, WV 25701, email lsimmons@hmoa.org or nagpra@hmoa.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 HMoA, 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, two individuals have been identified. The 82 associated funerary objects are: one lot antler awls; one lot antler beads; one antler handle; one lot antler pendants; one antler scraper; one lot antler, modified; one lot anvil stones; one bird stone; one lot bone (faunal); one lot bone (faunal) awls; one lot bone (faunal) beads; one lot bone (faunal) dowels; one lot bone (faunal) fishhooks; one lot bone (faunal) gorgets; one lot bone (faunal) pendants; one lot bone (faunal) pins; one lot bone (faunal) scrapers; one lot bone (faunal) tinkers; one lot; bone (faunal) whistles; one lot bone (faunal), modified; one lot cannel coal claws/teeth; one cannel coal discoidal; one lot cannel coal pendants; one clay discoidal; one lot clay effigies; one lot clay effigy rattles; one lot clay pipes; one lot copper effigy pendants; one lot copper fragments, modified; one copper gorget; one lot copper pendants; one lot copper tinkers; one lot copper tubes; one lot corn cobs; one flaked glass; one fossil bead; one lot fragmented elk teeth from necklace; one lot geodes; one glass bead; one lot hammerstones; one lot hematite blocks; one lot hematite sinkers; one lot incised (faunal) bones; one incised shell; one lot incised stones; one iron item, modified; one lot lithic flakes; one lot lithic points; one necklace of deer leg bones; one possible chunkey stone; one lot pottery sherds; one raw potter's clay; one lot red stone pendants; one lot shaped clay items; one lot shell beads; one lot shell disks; one shell gorget incised with a rattlesnake; one lot shell gorgets; one lot shell hoes; one lot shell pendants; one shell, unmodified; one lot stone adzes; one stone atlatl weight; one lot stone axes; one lot stone beads; one lot stone celts; one lot stone chisels; one lot stone discoidals; one lot stone drills; one lot stone effigies; one stone fishhook; one lot stone gorgets; one lot stone harpoon/spear points; one stone pestle; one lot stone pipes; one lot stone plummets; one lot stone scrapers; one lot stones, modified; one lot teeth (faunal); one lot teeth (faunal) pendants; one lot turtle shells; and one lot whetstones. The human remains (Ancestors) and associated funerary objects (funerary belongings) were removed from the Clover Site (46CB40) in Cabell County, WV. John J. Adams was an avocational archaeologist and charter member of the West Virginia and Ohio Archaeological Societies. Beginning in the 1930s, Adams collected Native American cultural material, Ancestors, and funerary belongings from the Clover Site. Adams reportedly collected primarily from the surface and there is no known documentation of his collecting strategy. A minimum of one Ancestor was donated by Adams to the HMoA in October 1980. In 1990, during a West Virginia Archaeology interview about the Adams Collection at the HMoA, Thomas Kuhn, Adam's friend and former archaeology faculty member at Marshall University, described a beamer made of human bone collected by Adams from the Clover Site. It is not clear whether the Ancestor mentioned by Kuhn was included in the Adams Collection donated to the HMoA. The Ancestor is considered missing in collection. Glues, polyvinyl acetate, and enamels were potentially used to display and reconstruct some associated funerary objects in the past. Apart from this, HMoA has no knowledge or record of the presence of any potentially hazardous substances used to treat the human remains or associated funerary objects.

Human remains representing, at least, two individuals have been identified. The 35 associated funerary objects are: one beaded article of leather clothing (missing); one beaded leather moccasin (missing); one boat stone; one lot bone (faunal) beads; one bone (faunal) spearhead; one canine (faunal); one clay effigy; one clay pipe shaft; one copper spearhead; one coral fossil; one drilled shell, possibly a mask; one effigy gorget incised with owl, turtles, and tipi; one four-legged clay bowl; one lot gorgets; one lot hammerstones; one lot lithic flakes; one lot lithic points; one oval nut stone; one lot plummet stones; one lot pottery sherds; one lot stone adzes; one stone axe with wood handle; one lot stone axes; one lot stone celts; one lot stone discoidals; one lot stone drills; one stone effigy; one lot stone pendants; one lot stone pestles; one lot stone pipes; one lot stone scrapers; one lot stones, modified; one wood bow (missing); one wooden handle; and one worked leather strap. On an unknown date, the human remains (Ancestors) and associated funerary objects (funerary belongings) were removed from the Ceredo region, Wayne County, West Virginia. In the late 1800's to early 1900's, the Hoard and Stark families owned railway, timber, and mineral claims in the Ceredo region. It is thought the Ancestors and funerary belongings were collected by members of the Hoard and Stark families during industry-led excavations in the Ceredo region. Mr. and Mrs. Pitt Stark donated the Ancestors and funerary belongings to the HMoA on May 28, 1970. An undamaged Hanes Excelsior Civil War Grenade was originally stored in the same box as one of the individuals. While the grenade is inactive and was moved to isolation, it may be a source of residue contamination. Additionally, ( printed page 14878) glues, polyvinyl acetate, and enamels were potentially used to display and reconstruct some associated funerary objects in the past. Apart from this, HMoA has no knowledge or record of any additional potentially hazardous substances being used to treat the human remains or associated funerary objects.

Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been identified. No associated funerary objects are present. On an unknown date, human remains (Ancestor) were removed from an unknown location. On an unknown date, the Ancestor was transferred to the HMoA by an unknown individual. On August 29, 1988, the HMoA filled out an American Association of Museums Collections Survey documenting the presence of the Ancestor. Based on the acquisition history of the HMoA Native American Collection, it is possible the Ancestor was removed from West Virginia. The Ancestor is missing in collection. HMoA has no knowledge or record of the presence of any potentially hazardous substances used to treat the human remains.

Cultural Affiliation

Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical location and acquisition history of the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

The HMoA has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of five individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The 117 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 Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan; Catawba Indian Nation; Cayuga Nation; Cherokee Nation; Chickahominy Indian Tribe-Eastern Division; Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana; Delaware Tribe of Indians; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Kaw Nation, Oklahoma; Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigan; Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation of Wisconsin; Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Component reservations: Bois Forte Band (Nett Lake); Fond du Lac Band; Grand Portage Band; Leech Lake Band; White Earth Band); Monacan Indian Nation; Nansemond Indian Nation; Omaha Tribe of Nebraska; Oneida Indian Nation; Oneida Nation; Onondaga Nation; Pamunkey Indian Tribe; Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Ponca Tribe of Nebraska; Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, Minnesota; Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan; Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe; Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Seneca Nation of Indians; Seneca-Cayuga Nation; Shawnee Tribe; St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; The Osage Nation; Tonawanda Band of Seneca; Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe; Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota; Tuscarora Nation; United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma; and the Wyandotte Nation.

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 April 27, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the HMoA 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 HMoA 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: March 20, 2026.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.

[FR Doc. 2026-05975 Filed 3-26-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4312-52-P

Published Document: 2026-05975 (91 FR 14877)