Notice2024-19683
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
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
September 3, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Wesleyan University intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 170 (Tuesday, September 3, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71387-71388]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19683]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038626; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Wesleyan University, Middletown,
CT
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Wesleyan University intends to repatriate
certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated
funerary objects and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian
Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on
or after October 3, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Wendi Field Murray, Wesleyan University (Archaeology &
Anthropology Collections), 265 Church Street, Exley Science Building,
Middletown, CT 06459, telephone (860)-685-2085, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0b7c667e79796a723b3a4b7c6e78676e726a65256e6f7e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="17607a626565766e2726576072647b726e767939727362">[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 the
summary or related records. The National Park Service is not
responsible for the determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
A total of five cultural items have been jointly requested for
repatriation. The five unassociated funerary objects are two stone
mortars (1972.103.1; 1971.24.1) and three stone pestles (1971.364.1;
1971.365.1; 1971.367.1). All five objects were taken by Paul Schumacher
from San Nicolas Island, CA during the 1870s (likely 1877) while he was
employed as an archaeologist for the National Park Service.
Schumacher's collecting was prolific in the Channel Islands during the
1870s. The looting of Native American burials figures prominently in
the documentation of his work via reports and his personal journals,
making it probable that these items are from funerary contexts. They
were initially delivered to the Smithsonian Institution, and in 1878,
they were included in a large (Smithsonian) transfer of cultural
objects originating in the Channel Islands and other parts of
California to Wesleyan University's natural history museum. It should
also be noted that there was a sixth object (a stone pestle,
1971.446.1) from San Nicolas Island taken by Schumacher and originally
included in the 1878 transfer paperwork (as well as a 1971 collections
inventory), but was discovered to be missing by Wesleyan collections
staff in 1999. It has not yet been found, but for future reference this
object has the same provenance and cultural affiliation as the five
objects listed above. No cultural affiliation information was included
in the records of the taking or the transfer, though their geographical
origin and the well-documented cultural, historical, geographical, and
linguistic connections between the claimants and the southern Channel
Islands indicates a cultural affiliation with the Pay[oacute]mkawichum
(Luise[ntilde]o) Tribal Bands and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash
Indians.
The presence of potentially hazardous substances (i.e., pesticide
residues) on these particular objects 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. This
suggests the possibility that other objects in the collection may be
contaminated. While pesticides were not typically applied to stone
objects due to their inherent resilience to pest damage, the objects
from San Nicolas have potentially been intermingling with organic
objects in a large ethnographic teaching collection since the 1870s,
and possibly with natural history specimens as well. To what extent
Wesleyan staff attempted to mitigate cross-contamination when objects
were stored or handled is unknown. 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 specimens. The specific contents of the room in which the
chemicals were applied, and to what extent they were shielded from
them, is unknown.
Determinations
Wesleyan University has determined that:
<bullet> The five unassociated funerary objects described in this
notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with
or near human remains, and are connected, either at the time of death
or later as part of the death rite or ceremony of a Native American
culture according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a
lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. The
unassociated funerary objects have been identified by a preponderance
of the evidence as related to human remains, specific individuals, or
families, or removed from a specific burial site or burial area of an
individual or individuals with cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe
or Native Hawaiian organization.
<bullet> There is a reasonable connection between the cultural
items described in this notice and the La Jolla Band of Luiseno
Indians, California; Pala Band of Mission Indians; Pauma Band of
Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pauma & Yuima Reservation, California;
Pechanga Band of Indians (previously listed as Pechanga Band of Luiseno
Mission Indians of the Pechanga Reservation, California); Rincon Band
of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Rincon Reservation, California; Santa
Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation,
California; and the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians, California.
Requests for Repatriation
Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items
in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified
in this notice
[[Page 71388]]
under 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 October 3, 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 cultural items are considered a single request and
not competing requests. Wesleyan University is responsible for sending
a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations identified in this notice and to any other consulting
parties.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.
Dated: August 26, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-19683 Filed 8-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 3, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.