# Notice of Intended Repatriation: Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, MO
**AGENCY:**
National Park Service, Interior.
**ACTION:**
Notice.
**SUMMARY:**
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Missouri Historical Society (MHS) intends to repatriate a certain cultural item that meets the definition of a sacred object and that has a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
**DATES:**
Repatriation of the cultural item in this notice may occur on or after January 20, 2026.
**ADDRESSES:**
Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural item in this notice to Brady Wolf, Missouri Historical Society, 225 S Skinker Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63105, email *[email protected].*
**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 MHS, 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 one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The number of sacred objects is one catlinite effigy pipe.
At an unknown time prior to 1842 General Stephen Watts Kearny acquired a carved catlinite pipe depicting an oral history of the Pawnee Nation. The pipe passed down his family line to his daughter-in-law Mrs. Henry S. Kearny and granddaughter Mrs. Mary Kearny Coombe who donated the pipe to the MHS in 1926. MHS records indicate no known hazardous substances.
**Determinations**
The MHS has determined that:
• The one sacred object described in this notice are specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional Native American religion, according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization.
• There is a connection between the cultural item described in this notice and the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma.
**Requests for Repatriation**
Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural item 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 item in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after January 20, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the MHS must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the cultural item are considered a single request and not competing requests. The MHS 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: December 3, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.