Notice of Inventory Completion: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

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Choosing an item from suggestions will bring you directly to the content. Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or after July 22, 2026. Table of Contents Enhanced Content - Table of Contents This table of contents is a navigational tool, processed from the headings within the legal text of Federal Register documents. This repetition of headings to form internal navigation links has no substantive legal effect. Document page views are updated periodically throughout the day and are cumulative counts for this document. Counts are subject to sampling, reprocessing and revision (up or down) throughout the day. Page views 0 as of 06/20/2026 at 12:15 am EDT Other Formats Enhanced Content - Other Formats This document is also available in the following formats: This PDF is FR Doc. 2026-12388 as it appeared on Public Inspection on 06/18/2026 at 8:45 am. It was viewed 3 times while on Public Inspection. If you are using public inspection listings for legal research, you should verify the contents of the documents against a final, official edition of the Federal Register. Only official editions of the Federal Register provide legal notice of publication to the public and judicial notice to the courts under 44 U.S.C. 1503 & 1507. Learn more here. Published Document: 2026-12388 (91 FR 37125) This document has been published in the Federal Register. Use the PDF linked in the document sidebar for the official electronic format. AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), The Metropolitan Museum of Art has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribe in this notice. DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or after July 22, 2026. ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains in this notice to Jennifer Day, NAGPRA Coordinator & Community Liaison, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028, email Jennifer.day@metmuseum.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 Metropolitan Museum of Art, 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, one individual have been identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The human remains were used to fashion a flute (former Met accession number 1979.296.401). (H. 13 x Diam. 2.5 inch.). The flute had been identified as fashioned from animal bone until consultation between the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation, California (SYBCI) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in December 2024, during which it was determined that the flute was fashioned from an Ancestral human remain. The flute is light raw sienna in color with white pearls, a large circle formed of three concentric rings of haliotis shell inlay, a band of shell beads above the mouthpiece, and conch shell. The flute was reportedly excavated in Arroyo Sequit, near Malibu, California, which runs through both Ventura and Los Angeles counties. There is no official site number. This location reasonably identifies the human remains as Chumash in origin. The item was loaned by Nelson A. Rockefeller to The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, in 1955, and given by bequest to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1979; Mr. Rockefeller acquired the item in 1955 from Stendahl Galllery, New York and Los Angeles. Cultural Affiliation Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical location or acquisition history of the human remains described in this notice. Determinations The Metropolitan Museum of Art has determined that: The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry. There is a connection between the human remains described in this notice and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation, California. 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 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 described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after July 22, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, The Metropolitan Museum of Art must determine the most ( printed page 37126) appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains are considered a single request and not competing requests. The Metropolitan Museum of Art 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.