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 Denver Art Museum 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 18 cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The 18 sacred objects are two 'umeke lā'au (wood bowls), 10 kapa, one pahu (drum), two stone tools, one lei hulu (feather lei), one Lei niho palaoa (pendant necklace) and one moena (mat).

One wood bowl was acquired about 1899 from Mrs. A.C. Cass of Colorado, who then gifted it to the museum. The second bowl was purchased by the museum in 1948 from Altman Antiques in Los Angeles, California. Museum records have no additional information for either bowl. Five of the kapa came to the Denver Art Museum via an exchange with the British Museum in 1949. Oceanic works exchanged in 1949 with British Museum were taken from pool designated “duplicates collection” used for exchanges and was an unregistered group with no catalogue records or detailed listings. Documentation provided has minimal provenance information. Consultation has confirmed their cultural affiliation with Hawaii. One kapa and the moena mat were gifts to the museum in 1942 from Mrs. Helen Stanford Canfield of Estes Park, Colorado. The kapa and moena mat were given to Mrs. Canfield's mother, Mrs. Josiah W. Stanford in Hawaii in 1898 by Mrs. Irene'Ī'ī Holloway, a friend of Queen Lili'uokalani.

Two other kapa, the pahu, and the lei hulu were purchased by the museum from art dealer Julius Carlebach in 1949. There is no additional information about the kapa. The pahu is from the Fred Harvey collection that was exhibited at the San Francisco Fair in 1915. The lei hulu is said to have been acquired by an unnamed whaling family around 1800 and was brought to New Bedford Massachusetts in 1860. The lei hulu has tested positive for lead. One kapa was a gift from Mrs. Garetta Stoever of La Jolla, California. It was collected by Mrs. Stoever's father-in-law, Dr. Henry von H. Stoever, in Hawaii in the 1890's. The final kapa was acquired by exchange in 1959 from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. There is no further provenance information in the DAM's records. The stone tools, a ko'i (adze) and a pōhaku ku'i 'ai (pounder) were gifted to the museum by Frederic H. Douglas, of Denver, Colorado. This collection of Hawaiian stone implements was acquired by Douglas from Altman Antiques of Los Angeles. Altman received them from an auctioneer who had sold the contents of a house owned by a man who once lived in Hawaii. No further history was provided. Finally, the Lei niho palaoa was gifted to the museum in 1954 by Theodore B. Pittman of Massachusetts. It is uncertain if this was a gift of Theodore Pitman Sr. or T. Pitman Jr. Theodore “Ted” Baldwin “Hoolulu” Pitman Jr. (1917-1997) of Swampscott, born in Hawaii and great-grandson of the High Chieftess Kinoole-o-Liliha Pitman of Hilo, Hawaii.

Determinations

The Denver Art Museum has determined that:

• The 18 sacred objects 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, ( printed page 14873) Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization.
• There is a connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Hui Iwi Kuamo'o.

Requests for Repatriation

Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items 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 items in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after April 27, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Denver Art Museum must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the cultural items are considered a single request and not competing requests. The Denver Art Museum 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.