Notice2022-19617
Notice of Inventory Completion: Department of Anthropology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Primary source
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Published
September 12, 2022
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
The Department of Anthropology, Cornell University 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 Department of Anthropology, Cornell University. 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 87 Issue 175 (Monday, September 12, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 175 (Monday, September 12, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55850-55851]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19617]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0034491; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Department of Anthropology,
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Anthropology, Cornell University 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 Department of
Anthropology, Cornell University. 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 Department of Anthropology, Cornell
University at the address in this notice by October 12, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Velasco, Department of
Anthropology, Cornell University, 261 McGraw Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853,
telephone (607) 255-5137, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#99f4faefadaed9faf6ebf7fcf5f5b7fcfdec"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a6cbc5d09291e6c5c9d4c8c3caca88c3c2d3">[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 Department of
Anthropology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. The human remains and
associated funerary objects were removed from Broome County, NY.
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
Department of Anthropology, Cornell University professional staff in
consultation with the Haudenosaunee Standing Committee on Burial Rules
and Regulations and representatives of the Oneida Indian Nation
(previously listed as Oneida Nation of New York); Onondaga Nation;
Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (previously listed as St. Regis Band of Mohawk
Indians of New York); and the Tuscarora Nation.
History and Description of the Remains
In August of 1964, human remains representing, at minimum, three
individuals were removed near the site of Onaquaga in Broome County,
NY, during the digging of a waterline ditch. The property owner, Harry
Springsteen, notified the local sheriff. Subsequently, Professor
Kenneth A. R. Kennedy of Cornell University was asked to provide a
forensic identification of the human remains. By September 8, 1964,
Kennedy had completed a report that concluded the human remains
belonged to a young adult male of Native American ancestry. Whether the
human remains were transferred to Kennedy's laboratory immediately
after their removal or were temporarily held by the Old Onaquaga
Historical Society (OOHS) is unclear, but correspondence between R.
Leone Jacob, then president of the OOHS, and Kennedy in May of 1966
concluded that the human remains would remain at Cornell University.
After Kennedy's death in 2014, the human remains were transferred to
the Department of Anthropology. Kennedy's original description of the
human remains did not note the presence of additional skeletal remains
belonging to two subadults of indeterminate sex, one of whom
(represented by fragmentary postcranial remains) was less than 20 years
old and the other (represented by a single bone) 4 years old or
younger. No known individuals were identified. The 22 associated
funerary objects are three pottery sherds (two of which are sand-
tempered and cord-impressed), one piece of leather, one deer first
phalanx, one deer radius fragment, one large mammal skull fragment, one
large bird vertebra, one turtle scapula, one acorn, one black walnut,
five unidentified seeds, two fragments of a plaster-like material, and
four fragments of concrete or mortar.
Based on physical analysis and burial location, the human remains
are determined to be Native American. The site of Onaquaga was a large
multinational settlement located on the banks of the Susquehanna River
near present-day Windsor, NY, in the traditional territory of the
Oneida Indian Nation. Historical evidence indicates that members of
many Nations, including the Oneidas, Tuscaroras, and Mohawks,
frequented this village, and that other peoples likely took refuge
there, too. The Oneidas were the primary occupants of Onaquaga in the
1600s and early 1700s, after which Tuscaroras began to arrive in
greater numbers, followed by Mohawks. From the available evidence, it
is not possible to conclusively determine the age of the human remains
relative to the historical occupation of Onaquaga. The association of
cord-impressed ceramic sherds, along with the presence of a rock
covering over the grave (noted in a local news article at the time of
removal), present the possibility that the
[[Page 55851]]
human remains significantly predate A.D. 1700. Although the human
remains from Onaquaga cannot be associated with a particular tribal
group, given the geographic location of Onaquaga and the history of
settlement there, they can be reasonably culturally affiliated with the
Oneida Indian Nation (previously listed as Oneida Nation of New York);
Onondaga Nation; Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (previously listed as St.
Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York); and Tuscarora Nation.
Determinations Made by the Department of Anthropology, Cornell
University
Officials of the Department of Anthropology, Cornell University
have determined that:
<bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described
in this notice represent the physical remains of three individuals of
Native American ancestry.
<bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 22 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 Oneida
Indian Nation (previously listed as Oneida Nation of New York);
Onondaga Nation; Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (previously listed as St.
Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York); and the Tuscarora Nation
(hereafter referred to as ``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 Matthew Velasco, Department of Anthropology,
Cornell University, 261 McGraw Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, telephone (607)
255-5137, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#315c5247050671525e435f545d5d1f545544"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a2cfc1d49695e2c1cdd0ccc7cece8cc7c6d7">[email protected]</span></a>, by October 12, 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 Department of Anthropology, Cornell University is responsible
for notifying The Tribes that this notice has been published.
Dated: September 1, 2022.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2022-19617 Filed 9-9-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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