Notice2023-27789
Notice of Inventory Completion: Grand Rapids Public Museum, Grand Rapids, MI
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 19, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Grand Rapids Public 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 Lee County, FL.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 242 (Tuesday, December 19, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87799-87800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27789]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037079; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Grand Rapids Public Museum, Grand
Rapids, MI
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 Grand Rapids Public 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 Lee County, FL.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after January 18, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Alex Forist, Chief Curator, 272 Pearl Street NW, Grand
Rapids, MI 49504, telephone (616) 929-1809, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d4b5b2bba6bda7a094b3a6a4b9fabba6b3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e8898e879a819b9ca88f9a9885c6879a8f">[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
Grand Rapids Public 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 Grand Rapids Public Museum.
Description
At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, four
individuals were removed from Lee County, FL. At an unknown date, Dr.
J.W. Velie, a medical professional and professor who lived in St.
Joseph, MI, and wintered in Florida reportedly purchased the human
remains and artifact from an unknown individual that were said to have
been found in a grave in 1880. From 1870 to 1893, Velie was employed as
an assistant curator for the Academy of Science in Chicago, IL, and
following the Great Chicago Fire, he conducted field work in Cuba,
Florida, and the Yucatan to collect specimens to help rebuild the
Academy's collections. The Grand Rapids Public Museum acquired the
human remains and funerary object from Velie in 1909. The age of the
human remains is unknown. The one associated funerary object is an
ornamental metal coin piece that has been hammered and has punched
holes.
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: archeological information, geographical information, oral
history, and historical information.
Determinations
Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations, the Grand Rapids Public Museum has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of four individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The one object 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 Miccosukee Tribe of Indians;
Seminole Tribe of Florida; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; and The
Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.
[[Page 87800]]
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 January 18, 2024.
If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Grand Rapids
Public 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 Grand Rapids Public Museum is responsible for
sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations 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: December 8, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-27789 Filed 12-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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