Notice2023-27798
Notice of Inventory Completion: American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
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 American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) 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 Snohomish County, WA.
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 87807-87808]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27798]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037092; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: American Museum of Natural
History, New York, NY
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 American Museum of Natural History
(AMNH) 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
Snohomish County, WA.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after January 18, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Nell Murphy, American Museum of Natural History, 200 Central
Park West, New York, NY 10024, telephone (212) 769-5837, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9df3f0e8efedf5e4ddfcf0f3f5b3f2effa"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="335d5e4641435b4a73525e5d5b1d5c4154">[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
AMNH. 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 AMNH.
Description
Human remains representing, at minimum, 16 individuals were removed
from Snohomish County, WA. In 1899, former AMNH Curator of North
American Archaeology, Harlan Smith, excavated the individuals and 15
associated funerary objects from eight shell heaps found along the
[[Page 87808]]
Stillaguamish River in the vicinity of Stanwood, WA. The material was
collected as part of the Jesup Expedition and subsequently accessioned
at the AMNH. Biological and archeological evidence suggests that the
individuals excavated by Smith lived sometime during the Prehistoric
Period. The 15 associated funerary objects are four shells, including a
mussel shell; one stone; two grit stones; one stone pestle; two antler
wedges; one piece of antler; one bone implement; one bone harpoon barb;
one animal tooth; and one animal upper jaw fragment.
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 information, archeological information,
biological information, geographical information, historical
information, linguistics, oral tradition, and expert opinion.
Determinations
Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations, the AMNH has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 16 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 15 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 Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians
of Washington; Swinomish Indian Tribal Community; Tulalip Tribes of
Washington; and the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe.
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 AMNH 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 AMNH 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, Sec.
10.10, and Sec. 10.14.
Dated: December 8, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-27798 Filed 12-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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