Notice2023-00477
Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
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
January 12, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum (Burke Museum) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has 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. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Thomas Bay in Petersburg Borough, AK.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 8 (Thursday, January 12, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 8 (Thursday, January 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2123-2124]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00477]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035107; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington
State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State
Museum (Burke Museum) has completed an inventory of human remains and
associated funerary objects and has 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. The
human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Thomas
Bay in Petersburg Borough, AK.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after February 13, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Peter Lape, Burke Museum, University of Washington, Box
353010, Seattle, WA 98195, telephone (206) 685-3849x2, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#83f3efe2f3e6c3f6f4ade6e7f6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="beced2dfcedbfecbc990dbdacb">[email protected]</span></a>.
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
Burke Museum. The National Park Service is not responsible for the
determinations in this notice. Additional information on the
determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation,
can be found in the inventory or related records held by the Burke
Museum.
Description
Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed
from a cave in Thomas Bay, AK, by Floyd Schmoe, who donated them to the
Burke Museum (Burke Accession #2439). The human remains belong to an
infant whose head is covered in red ochre. No known individual was
identified. The six funerary objects are one wood box with metal
handles, one piece of basketry matting with attached leather handles,
one lot of cordage, one lot of fur, one animal hide, and one wool tunic
with Chinese coins attached.
The funerary objects and burial characteristics indicate a
relatively recent, historic era burial. The style of the wool tunic is
consistent with Tlingit traditional garments. It was often considered a
sign of wealth or status to use trade materials, in particular Chinese
coins, to embellish Tlingit clothing. During consultation, genetic
analysis was requested to confirm that the human remains are of Native
American ancestry. The results of the analysis showed that the
individual's mitochondrial DNA belongs to sub-haplogroup A2, which
indicates Native American ancestry through the maternal line.
Haplogroup A is the most common form of mitochondrial DNA in Native
Americans in southeast Alaska (Kemp & Schurr, 2010).
Thomas Bay is located north of the town of Petersburg on the
Alaskan mainland, and it lies within the aboriginal territory of the
southern coast Tlingit Stikine (De Laguna 1990:204). According to local
oral history, Thomas Bay was the location of two village sites that
were destroyed and abandoned due to natural disaster and disease.
Information provided during consultation indicates that the surviving
residents of these villages relocated to Petersburg and are represented
today by the Petersburg Indian Association.
Cultural Affiliation
The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice
are connected to one or more identifiable earlier groups, tribes,
peoples, or cultures. There is a relationship of shared group identity
between the identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures
and one or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. The
following types of information were used to reasonably trace the
relationship: anthropological, archeological, biological, geographical,
historical, oral traditional, and other relevant information.
Determinations
Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations, the Burke Museum has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The six 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> There is a relationship of shared group identity that can
be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary
objects described in this notice and the Petersburg Indian Association.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the
Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation
may be submitted by:
1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian
organizations identified in this notice.
2. 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 human remains and associated funerary objects
in this
[[Page 2124]]
notice to a requestor may occur on or after February 13, 2023. If
competing requests for repatriation are received, the Burke Museum must
determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation.
Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and associated
funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing
requests. The Burke Museum is responsible for sending a copy of this
notice to the Indian Tribe identified in this notice.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9, 10.10,
and 10.14.
Dated: January 4, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-00477 Filed 1-11-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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