Katmai Park Prepares to Dispose of Unclaimed Native Remains and Artifacts
Published Date: 3/18/2025
Notice
Summary
The National Park Service at Katmai National Park in Alaska plans to return human remains and eight funerary items found at the Cutbank Site to the rightful Native descendants or tribes starting April 17, 2025. If no one claims them by March 18, 2026, these remains and objects will be considered unclaimed. This action respects Native American heritage and follows important legal rules to honor those who came before us.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Planned return of remains and funerary items
Katmai National Park intends to return human remains representing at least one Native American individual and eight associated funerary objects found at the Cutbank Site (state site XMK-016) to lineal descendants or priority tribes. The items (a stone lamp, a biface fragment, wooden plank fragments, birch bark, soil, and stone flakes) are stored at the Alaska Regional Curatorial Center (ARCC) in Anchorage, and disposition may occur on or after April 17, 2025; the tribes with priority for disposition are Chignik Bay Tribal Council; Chignik Lake Village; Ivanof Bay Tribe; King Salmon Tribe; Naknek Native Village; Native Village of Chignik Lagoon; Native Village of Perryville; and South Naknek Village.
Claim deadline and unclaimed status risk
Written claims for disposition must be sent to Mark Sturm, Superintendent, Katmai National Park and Preserve (P.O. Box 7, King Salmon, AK 99613; telephone (907) 246-2120; email [email protected]) and must be received by March 18, 2026. If no claim is received by March 18, 2026, the human remains and associated funerary objects will become unclaimed; claims may be submitted by any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization identified in the notice or by others who show by a preponderance of the evidence they have priority, and joint disposition requests count as a single request.
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The National Park Service at Katmai National Park in Alaska plans to return the remains of at least 12 people and 104 special burial items found at Mink Island to Native American tribes or Native Hawaiian groups. This process starts April 17, 2025, and if no one claims them by March 18, 2026, the items will be considered unclaimed. This affects tribes connected to the site and helps honor their ancestors respectfully.
Next: 2025-04368, Notice of Intended Disposition: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, King Salmon, AK
The National Park Service at Aniakchak National Monument in Alaska plans to return some Native American human remains found at an archaeological site to the rightful descendants or tribes. If no one claims them by March 18, 2026, the remains will be considered unclaimed. This process starts on April 17, 2025, and affects Native communities connected to the area.