Notice2021-27360
Notice of Inventory Completion: Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 17, 2021
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
The Illinois State Museum has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and present-day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a written request to the Illinois State Museum. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 240 (Friday, December 17, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 240 (Friday, December 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71662-71663]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27360]
[[Page 71662]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0033143; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Illinois State Museum,
Springfield, IL
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Illinois State Museum has completed an inventory of human
remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with the
appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has
determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human
remains and associated funerary objects and present-day Indian Tribes
or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants or representatives
of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in
this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human
remains and associated funerary objects should submit a written request
to the Illinois State Museum. If no additional requestors come forward,
transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary
objects to the lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian
organizations stated in this notice may proceed.
DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to
request transfer of control of these human remains and associated
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in
support of the request to the Illinois State Museum at the address in
this notice by January 18, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Brooke Morgan, Illinois State
Museum Research & Collections Center, 1011 East Ash Street,
Springfield, IL 62703, telephone (217) 785-8930, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#397b4b5656525c1774564b5e585779505555505756504a175e564f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7537071a1a1e105b381a0712141b351c19191c1b1a1c065b121a03">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25
U.S.C. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains and
associated funerary objects under the control of the Illinois State
Museum, Springfield, IL. The human remains and associated funerary
objects were removed from the Aronin site, Grundy County, IL, and the
Gougar site, Will County, IL.
This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native
American human remains and associated funerary objects. The National
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
Consultation
A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the Illinois
State Museum professional staff in consultation with representatives of
the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma; Forest County Potawatomi
Community, Wisconsin; Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi
Indians of Michigan; Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and
Indiana; and the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation [previously listed as
Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation, Kansas]. The Hannahville Indian
Community, Michigan and the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi,
Michigan [previously listed as Huron Potawatomi, Inc.] were invited to
consult but did not participate. Hereafter, the Indian Tribes listed in
this section are referred to as ``The Tribes''.
History and Description of the Remains
Sometime between 1970-1973, human remains representing, at minimum,
nine individuals were removed from the Aronin site (11GR5), which is
located on the east side of Aux Sable Creek in Grundy County, IL, near
its confluence with the Illinois River and just west of the confluence
of the Des Plaines and Kankakee Rivers. Documentation associated with
this collection is sparse, but records indicate that the Aronin
material was collected in the early 1970s, after burials were disturbed
by heavy equipment operation during trenching. The construction was
halted, archeologists were called to the scene to salvage the burials,
and the recovered materials were subsequently donated to the Center for
American Archeology in Kampsville, IL, for curation. In 2004, the
Aronin site collection was transferred to the Illinois State Museum
Research & Collections Center in Springfield, IL. The number of burials
encountered in the early 1970s work is unclear. It is also unclear
which objects can be associated with which burials, but all the objects
listed in this notice are reasonably believed to be funerary objects.
Upon transfer to the Illinois State Museum, an osteologist
documented the partial human skeletal remains and identified nine
individuals of Native American ancestry. The human remains belong to
one 13-16 year old adolescent of unknown sex (Individual A); one 8-10
year old adolescent of unknown sex (Individual B); one 6-7 year old
adolescent of unknown sex (Individual C); one 35-45 year old adult male
(Individual D); one 25-35 year old adult male (Individual E); one 3-12
year old adolescent of unknown sex (Individual F); one 0-1 year old
infant of unknown sex (Individual G); one 20+ year old adult female
(Individual H); and one probable adult male of unknown age (Individual
I). No known individuals were identified. The 75 associated funerary
objects include seven silver brooches or brooch fragments, 19 miniature
silver brooches or pins attached to fabric, one lot wool fabric, two
small silver bands, nine pieces of scrap silver, one wooden artifact
fragment, four knife fragments, two steel strike-a-lights, one lot
metal fragments, one limestone smoking pipe bowl fragment, one skunk
mandible, four large mammal ribs, one modern large mammal bone fragment
(which may be intrusive), 14 unmodified natural pebbles and
concretions, two complete wide silver armbands, one fragment of a wide
silver armband, one silver cross, one magnifying glass with metal
frame, two silver pendants, and one silver button with birchbark
attached.
Based on diagnostic trade items, early maps of the region, and
other historic documentation, the Aronin site is most likely a late
18th-early 19th century Potawatomi cemetery and is probably affiliated
with a nearby village at Aux Sable Creek. Four pieces of decorative
silver were stamped or engraved with maker's marks. One of the pieces
was made by Robert Cruickshank (ca. 1748-1809) and three of the pieces
were made by Pierre Huguet Latour (1749-1817), both of whom were
Montreal silversmiths. The three Latour items were likely produced
between 1780 and 1816, when he was active as a silversmith. A small
magnifying or burning glass with a brass frame resembles those known to
date to ca. 1750-1800. Early maps of the region note the existence of a
Potawatomi village on the west side of Aux Sable Creek (alternatively
referred to as Au Sable River, Sandy Creek, Sandy River, or Sand River)
around 1812. Thomas Forsyth, in a letter to William Clark on July 20,
1813, provided geographic information on Potawatomi and Kickapoo
villages near the Illinois River, noting that ``at Sandy Creek near the
forks of Illinois River is Black Partridge and Pepper two Potawatomies
[sic] Chiefs reside.'' By 1812, Pepper had succeeded Little Chief as
leader of the village at Aux Sable Creek. While Forsyth identified the
Aux Sable Creek
[[Page 71663]]
village as Potawatomi, in his May 31, 1812 letter to Ninian Edwards,
John Hays claimed its population included Potawatomi, Chippewa, and
Ottawa residents. Although the village has not been identified in the
archeological record, it is reasonable to conclude the Aronin site
represents a Potawatomi cemetery associated with Pepper's village at
Aux Sable Creek.
In June or July 1969, human remains representing, at minimum, two
individuals were removed from the Gougar site (11WI64), which is
located on the south side of Hickory Creek in Will County, IL, east of
Joliet, IL, in advance of road widening by the Illinois Department of
Transportation. Salvage excavations were performed under the direction
of Dr. Emily Blasingham of the Illinois State Museum. According to
Blasingham's report, the area had been severely disturbed by previous
digging, and only fragmentary remains of individuals and associated
objects were recovered. In 1968, prior to the Illinois State Museum's
salvage excavation, members of the Will County Historical Society
removed six burials and associated funerary objects. In September of
1969, the Society reinterred the six individuals, as well as two
additional individuals, on property owned by the Joliet Park District,
where they remain to this day. The materials collected by the Illinois
State Museum salvage excavation were thought to be lost, until they
were located at the Glenn A. Black Laboratory at Indiana University in
2009. In 2009, the collection was returned to the Illinois State
Museum. It is unclear which objects can be associated with which
individuals, but the objects listed in this notice are reasonably
believed to be funerary objects. The human remains in the Illinois
State Museum's collection have been identified as fragments belonging
to the human remains that were reinterred on Joliet Park District
property.
The partial human remains were examined by an osteologist. Based on
contextual information, they were identified as belonging to two
individuals of Native American ancestry: One 20+ year old adult of
unknown sex and one 0-3 year old infant of unknown sex. No known
individuals were identified. The 17 associated funerary objects include
one lot glass beads, two shell beads, one lot shells, one metal brooch
fragment, one tinkling cone or ear bob, one lot metal/stone/fabric, two
lots fabric/textiles, one bone or antler button, one lot knife
fragments, one lot wood and sediment, one lot wood or bark, and four
lots metal.
The artifacts are consistent with other late 18th-early 19th
century Potawatomi sites in northern Illinois. Maps of ca. 1830 Native
American villages in the region show a Potawatomi village referred to
as ``Hickory Creek Settlement'' that may correspond with the Gougar
location. Based on artifact types, historic documentation, and oral
history, Gougar likely represents a Potawatomi habitation site and
cemetery that predates 1830, at which time the property was settled by
Euro-Americans.
Determinations Made by the Illinois State Museum
Officials of the Illinois State Museum have determined that:
<bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described
in this notice represent the physical remains of eleven individuals of
Native American ancestry.
<bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 92 objects described
in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed with or near
individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of the
death rite or ceremony.
<bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native
American human remains and associated funerary objects and The Tribes.
Additional Requestors and Disposition
Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to
request transfer of control of these human remains and associated
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in
support of the request to Dr. Brooke Morgan, Illinois State Museum
Research & Collections Center, 1011 East Ash Street, Springfield, IL
62703, telephone (217) 785-8930, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e7859588888c82c98a8895808689a78e8b8b8e89888e94c9808891">[email protected]</a>, by
January 18, 2022. After that date, if no additional requestors have
come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated
funerary objects to The Tribes may proceed.
The Illinois State Museum is responsible for notifying The Tribes
that this notice has been published.
Dated: December 10, 2021.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2021-27360 Filed 12-16-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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