Notice of Inventory Completion: Human Remains at Illinois State Museum – NAGPRA Cultural Affiliation Determination

The Illinois State Museum in Springfield, IL has completed a formal inventory of human remains held in its collections, as required under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Following this inventory, the museum has officially determined that a cultural affiliation exists between the inventoried human remains and one or more federally recognized Indian Tribes identified in the notice. NAGPRA mandates that federal agencies and museums receiving federal funding conduct inventories of Native American human remains and associated funerary objects, consult with lineal descendants and affiliated tribes, and facilitate the repatriation of those remains and objects upon request. This notice represents the completion of that statutory inventory process. With the cultural affiliation determination now formalized, the affiliated Indian Tribes have the legal right to request repatriation of the human remains. The Illinois State Museum is obligated to transfer custody of the remains to the requesting tribe(s) in accordance with NAGPRA's repatriation provisions. This notice is published in the Federal Register to inform all potentially affiliated tribes and the general public of the completed inventory and the museum's findings, initiating the formal repatriation eligibility window.

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