Notice2023-17780
Notice of Inventory Completion: Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA
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
August 18, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Berkshire 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 Hampden County, MA.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 159 (Friday, August 18, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 159 (Friday, August 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 56660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17780]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036385; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA
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 Berkshire 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 Hampden County, MA.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after September 18, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Jason Vivori, Berkshire Museum, 39 South Street, Pittsfield,
MA 01201, telephone (413) 443-7171 Ext. 341, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0e64786778617c674e6c6b7c657d66677c6b637b7d6b7b6320617c69"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1379657a657c617a5371766178607b7a61767e666076667e3d7c6174">[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
Berkshire 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 Berkshire
Museum.
Description
Human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were
removed from Hampden County, MA. At an unknown time, the Berkshire
Museum received human remains that had been collected by Professor Eben
Horsford (1818-1893). Handwritten notes kept with the human remains
indicate that they had washed out from a burial ground in Springfield/
Longmeadow. In 1995, an osteological report by Ann Marie Mires of the
Department of Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts concluded
that the human remains (consisting of fragmentary cranial elements)
belong to one adult and one adolescent. The 13 associated funerary
objects are 10 pottery sherds (2005.3.365.1-9, 2012.7.103) and three
stone tools (2023.8.1-3).
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, geographical, historical,
kinship, linguistic, expert opinion.
Determinations
Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations, the Berkshire Museum has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 13 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 Stockbridge Munsee Community,
Wisconsin.
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 notice to a requestor may occur on or after September 18, 2023.
If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Berkshire
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 Berkshire 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, Sec.
10.10, and Sec. 10.14.
Dated: August 9, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-17780 Filed 8-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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