Notice2024-00613
Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA
Primary source
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Published
January 16, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum) intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of sacred objects and/ or objects of cultural patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The cultural items were removed from Sitka, AK.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 10 (Tuesday, January 16, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2641-2642]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00613]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037246; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: University of
Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA
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 University of Pennsylvania Museum of
Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum) intends to repatriate
certain cultural items that meet the definition of sacred objects and/
or objects of cultural patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation
with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
The cultural items were removed from Sitka, AK.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on
or after February 15, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Dr. Christopher Woods, Williams Director, University of
Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 3260 South Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6324, telephone (215) 898-4050, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#94f0fde6f1f7e0fbe6d4c4f1fafaf9e1e7f1e1f9bafbe6f3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e7838e958284938895a7b78289898a929482928ac9889580">[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
Penn 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 summary or related records held by the Penn Museum.
Description
The five cultural items are one Wolf Helmet (catalog number
NA8507), one Shark Helmet (29-1-1), one Ganook Hat (NA6864), one Noble
Killer Hat (NA11741), and one Eagle Hat (NA11742). The Wolf Helmet is a
sacred object; the Shark Helmet is an object of cultural patrimony; and
the Ganook Hat, Noble Killer Hat, and Eagle Hat are both sacred objects
and objects of cultural patrimony. The five cultural items were
purchased in Sitka, AK, by Louis Shotridge, a Tlingit curator employed
by the Penn Museum to conduct research and make museum collections. In
1918, Louis Shotridge purchased the Wolf Helmet (NA8507) as part of a
collection of five objects referred to as the ``Eagle's Nest House
Collection,'' for $40.00. In 1925, Louis Shotridge purchased the Ganook
Hat (NA6864) for $450.00 from a Tlingit individual, Augustus Bean
(Ke.t-xut'.tc), a housemaster of one of the three Wolf Houses of the
Kaagwaantaan Clan of Sitka, AK. In 1926, Louis Shotridge purchased the
Noble Killer (or Noble Killerwhale) Hat (NA11741) and the Eagle Hat
(NA11742) from a Tlingit individual, Augustus Bean (Ke.t-xut'.tc), a
housemaster for one of the three Wolf Houses of the Kaagwaantaan Clan
of Sitka, AK. These two hats, together with a third hat, were acquired
by Louis Shotridge for $800.00. In 1929, Louis Shotridge purchased the
Shark Helmet (29-1-1) for $350.00 from a Tlingit individual of the
Kaagwaantaan clan.
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: anthropological information,
geographical information, historical information, kinship, oral
tradition, other relevant information, or expert opinion.
Determinations
Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations, the Penn Museum has determined that:
<bullet> One of the cultural items described above is a specific
ceremonial object needed by traditional Native American religious
leaders for the practice of traditional Native American religions by
their present-day adherents.
<bullet> One of the cultural items described above has ongoing
historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the Native
American group or culture itself, rather than property owned by an
individual.
<bullet> Three of the cultural items described above are specific
ceremonial objects needed by traditional Native American religious
leaders for the practice of traditional Native American religions by
their present-day adherents and have ongoing historical, traditional,
or cultural importance central to the Native American group or culture
itself, rather than property owned by an individual.
<bullet> There is a relationship of shared group identity that can
be reasonably traced between the cultural items and the Sitka Tribe of
Alaska.
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 February 15, 2024. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the Penn Museum 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 Penn 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 10.8, 10.10,
and 10.14.
[[Page 2642]]
Dated: January 9, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-00613 Filed 1-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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