Notices. Notice
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/register/2026/05/12/2026-09403·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service [N7134; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042751; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000] Notice of Intended Repatriation: New York State Museum, Albany, NY AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the New York State Museum intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of 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 June 11, 2026. ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to Gwendolyn Saul, New York State Museum, 222 Madison Avenue, Albany, NY 12230, email *gwendolyn.saul@nysed.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 New York State Museum, 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 four cultural items has been requested for repatriation. The four objects of cultural patrimony are E-50040, three strings of purple wampum; E-50044, three strings of purple and white wampum; E-50048 two strings of white wampum, each strand with four purple wampum; and E-50049, nine strings of white wampum, approximately two feet long. The four wampum strings were collected by theologian, researcher, and archaeologist William Beauchamp (1830-1925), between 1878-1895.
William Beauchamp served as an archaeologist and researcher at NYSM 1884-1910. According to Beauchamp's diary and publications, the strings were originally the property of Oneida Chief Abraham (Abram) Hill, living at Onondaga. Beauchamp acquired two of the wampum strings (E-50040 and E-50044) from Chief Hill's wife after Chief Hill passed away in 1895. A third wampum string (E-50048) was acquired by Beauchamp from Chief Hill, in May 1880. Beauchamp acquired a fourth wampum string (E-50049) that belonged to Chief Hill, from Mrs.
La Fort, after Chief Hill passed away. In 1949, Grace Beauchamp Lodder, William Beauchamp's daughter, donated the strings to the NYSM collections. Determinations The New York State Museum has determined that: • The four 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 Oneida Indian 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 June 11, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the New York State Museum 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 New York State Museum 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: May 5, 2026. Melanie O'Brien, Manager, National NAGPRA Program. [FR Doc. 2026-09403 Filed 5-11-26; 8:45 am]
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- 43 CFR 10.9
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