# 2026-11248: Federal Agencies Return Ancient Remains to Tribes

2026-11248, Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office, Santa Fe, NM, and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Basin Region, Salt Lake City, UT, is a Federal Register notice from Interior Department, National Park Service published 2026-06-04, effective 2026-07-06 (as of 2026-06-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-11248
- As of: 2026-06-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-11248
- Title: Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office, Santa Fe, NM, and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Basin Region, Salt Lake City, UT
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: Interior Department; National Park Service
- Citation: 91 FR 33736
- Published: 2026-06-04
- Effective: 2026-07-06
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: no
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-06-11

## In one line

Federal Agencies Return Ancient Remains to Tribes

## Summary

The Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation have finished checking human remains and funerary items found near Navajo Reservoir. They confirmed these items belong to certain Native American tribes, and starting July 6, 2026, these remains and objects can be returned to their rightful communities. This respectful step honors Native American heritage and involves no costs to the public.

## Abstract

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office, (BLM), and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Basin Region (Reclamation) have completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and have 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.

## Effects PRIA read

- Repatriation of Navajo Reservoir Remains: benefit, low. The Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation have determined that human remains representing at least six individuals and four lots of associated funerary objects from sites near Navajo Reservoir are culturally affiliated with a list of Native American Tribes. These remains and objects m…

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## Sources
- [2026-11248 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/06/04/2026-11248/notice-of-inventory-completion-us-department-of-the-interior-bureau-of-land-management-new-mexico)
- [2026-11248 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-06-04/pdf/2026-11248.pdf)

## Related
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- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-11248 (as of 2026-06-11).