Notice2024-17875
Notice of Inventory Completion: Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
Primary source
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Published
August 12, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Wesleyan University has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is no lineal descendant and no Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with cultural affiliation.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 155 (Monday, August 12, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 155 (Monday, August 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65657-65658]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17875]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038462; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Wesleyan University, Middletown,
CT
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Wesleyan University has completed an
inventory of human remains and has determined that there is no lineal
descendant and no Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with
cultural affiliation.
DATES: Upon request, repatriation of the human remains in this notice
may occur on or after September 11, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Wendi Field Murray, Wesleyan University (Archaeology &
Anthropology Collections), Exley Science Building, 265 Church Street,
Middletown, CT 06459, telephone (860) 685-2085, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e89f859d9a9a8991d8d9a89f8d9b848d918986c68d8c9d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1e69736b6c6c7f672e2f5e697b6d727b677f70307b7a6b">[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
Wesleyan University, and additional information on the determinations
in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in
its inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not
responsible for the determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
Human remains representing, at least, 16 individuals have been
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The remains of
these 16 individuals were once part of an osteological teaching
collection, which included human skeletal elements that had been
prepared and used for anatomical instruction sometime between the 19th
and 20th centuries. In August 2013, any human remains in the
osteological teaching collection that showed evidence of having been
disinterred (visible soil/staining, water damage, and weathering)
rather than mechanically cleaned/prepared by a medical supply vendor or
other entity were presumed to be Native American. Wesleyan has no
records suggesting their geographic origin or acquisition history.
The presence of potentially hazardous substances (i.e., pesticide
residues) on these remains is unknown. In 2021, Wesleyan University
discovered the presence of pesticide residue (arsenic) on one organic
object from Samoa that was transferred from the Smithsonian in the 19th
century, as well as several taxidermy specimens. While pesticides were
not typically applied to human skeletal remains, they were managed
together with organic objects in a large
[[Page 65658]]
ethnographic teaching collection, so cross-contamination is a
possibility.
There is one documented instance of pest fumigation relating to the
collections that dates to 1972-1973. This was to treat a silverfish
infestation in underground storage rooms that held the museum's objects
after it closed. The proposal was for the application of
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) to the floors, the placement of
open containers of paradichlorobenzene (PDB) around the room, and the
placement of a mildew-retarding insecticide inside the wraps of museum
specimens. The specific contents of the room in which the chemicals
were applied, and to what extent they were shielded from them, is
unknown.
Consultation
Invitations to consult were sent to the Mashantucket Pequot Indian
Tribe; Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut; and the Narragansett
Indian Tribe. Invitations to consult were also sent to the following
non-federally recognized Indian groups: Brothertown Indian Nation;
Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation; Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation; and
the Schaghticoke Indian Nation. The Mashantucket Pequot Indian Tribe
and the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut responded to the
invitation and participated in consultation. Other Indian Tribes and/or
groups either chose to defer, participated in preliminary phone calls,
or did not participate.
Cultural Affiliation
No information about the cultural affiliation of the human remains
in this notice are available. The information, including the results of
consultation, identified:
1. No earlier group connected to the human remains.
2. No Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization connected to the
human remains.
3. No relationship of shared group identity between the earlier
group and the Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization that can be
reasonably traced through time.
Determinations
Wesleyan University has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 16 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> No known lineal descendant who can trace ancestry to the
human remains in this notice has been identified.
<bullet> No Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with
cultural affiliation to the human remains in this notice has been
clearly or reasonably identified.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains in this
notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this
notice under ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be submitted by
any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization
who shows, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a
lineal descendant or an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization
with cultural affiliation.
Upon request, repatriation of the human remains described in this
notice may occur on or after September 11, 2024. If competing requests
for repatriation are received, Wesleyan University must determine the
most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint
repatriation of the human remains are considered a single request and
not competing requests. Wesleyan University is responsible for sending
a copy of this notice to any consulting lineal descendant, Indian
Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.
Dated: August 1, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-17875 Filed 8-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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