Notice2023-11693
Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Museum of Us, San Diego, CA
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
June 1, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Museum of Us intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The cultural items were removed from Tennessee and Mississippi.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 105 (Thursday, June 1, 2023)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 105 (Thursday, June 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 35915]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11693]
[[Page 35915]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035952; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Museum of Us, San
Diego, CA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Museum of Us intends to repatriate
certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated
funerary objects and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian
Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The cultural
items were removed from Tennessee and Mississippi.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on
or after July 3, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Carmen Mosley, NAGPRA Repatriation Manager, Museum of Us,
1350 El Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA 92101, telephone (619) 239-
2001 Ext. 42, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4e2d23213d222b370e233b3d2b3b2321283b3d60213c29"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="593a34362a353c2019342c2a3c2c34363f2c2a77362b3e">[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
Museum of Us. 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 summary or related records held by the Museum of
Us.
Description
At an unknown date, one cultural item was removed from an unknown
county in the State of Mississippi. In 1939, George L. Hyatt donated
the item to the San Diego Museum (now Museum of Us). The unassociated
funerary object is an axe head.
At an unknown date, three cultural items were removed from Hickman
County, TN. The items were found in a stone-lined grave situated at the
junction of the Piney and Duck Rivers. In 1957, George A. Leupold
donated the items to the San Diego Museum of Man (now Museum of Us).
The three unassociated funerary objects are one adze blade, one double-
headed axe head, and one biconcave discoidal.
At an unknown date, two cultural items were removed from an unknown
county in the State of Tennessee. Subsequently, Geoffrey Smith, a
retired physician and prolific collector of archeological and historic
items, acquired these items from the E. Lorenz Borenstein Gallery. In
2010, Smith donated the items to the Museum of Man (now Museum of Us),
along with a large Latin American archeological collection. The two
unassociated funerary objects are one conch shell mask, and one conch
shell dipper.
Cultural Affiliation
The cultural items 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: geographical and historical.
Determinations
Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations, the Museum of Us has determined that:
<bullet> The six cultural items described above 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 and
are believed, by a preponderance of the evidence, to have been removed
from a specific burial site of a Native American individual.
<bullet> There is a relationship of shared group identity that can
be reasonably traced between the cultural items and The Chickasaw
Nation.
Requests for Repatriation
Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items
in this notice must be sent to the Responsible Official identified in
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 July 3, 2023. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the Museum of Us 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 Museum of Us 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 10.8, 10.10,
and 10.14.
Dated: May 24, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-11693 Filed 5-31-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 1, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.