Notice2024-29255
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Western Washington University, Department of Anthropology, Bellingham, WA
Primary source
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Published
December 12, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Western Washington University, Department of Anthropology (WWU), intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of objects of cultural patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 239 (Thursday, December 12, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 239 (Thursday, December 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 100531]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-29255]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039179; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Western Washington University,
Department of Anthropology, Bellingham, WA
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 Western Washington University,
Department of Anthropology (WWU), intends to repatriate certain
cultural items that meet the definition of objects of cultural
patrimony 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 January 13, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Dr. Judith Pine, Western Washington University, Department
of Anthropology, Arntzen Hall 340, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA
98225, telephone (360) 650-4783, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d4a4bdbab1be94a3a3a1fab1b0a1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3a4a53545f507a4d4d4f145f5e4f">[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
WWU, 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 requested for
repatriation.
The four objects of cultural patrimony are one net weight, one
ground shell, one incised stone, and one adze blade. In 1982, Western
Washington University entered a contract with the Bureau of Indian
Affairs to conduct a cultural resource survey of selected portions of
the Swinomish Indian Reservation, Skagit County, Washington. Both
sites, 45-SK-32 and 45-SK-91, are located adjacent to the Swinomish
Slough within the boundaries of the Swinomish Reservation. Materials
were collected by excavation of four 1x2 meter test cuts (Chesmore
1984, A Cultural Resource Survey and Test Excavations of Selected
Portions of the Swinomish Indian Reservation, Skagit County,
Washington, Contract No. 2P10-0100515 with the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, Reports in Archaeology No. 22, Department of Anthropology,
Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington).
The one object of cultural patrimony is a worked bone point. The
materials described in this notice were collected in the spring of 2003
as part of a collaborative effort between Dr. Sarah Campbell and field
school students from WWU, Equinox Research and Consulting
International, Inc. (ERCI) and the Samish Indian Nation to mitigate
erosion of a cut bank on Weaverling Spit. An area approximately 150 m
long between a jetty for a private residence and a field south of the
Cove at Fidalgo Condominium property was examined. The crew excavated
eight shovel tests, faced, and profiled the bank in six locations and
collected column samples from two locations. During this work, two
burials were observed eroding out of the bank in front of the
condominiums. Human remains were also observed and collected beneath
the bank on the beach. All these remains were repatriated to the Samish
Indian Nation (Nelson, 2006).
No hazardous chemicals are known to have been used to treat the
items while in the custody of WWU.
Determinations
The WWU has determined that:
<bullet> The five objects of cultural patrimony described in this
notice have ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance
central to the Native American group, including any constituent sub-
group (such as a band, clan, lineage, ceremonial society, or other
subdivision), according to the Native American traditional knowledge of
an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
<bullet> There is a reasonable connection between the cultural
items described in this notice and the Samish Indian Nation and the
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.
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 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 January 13, 2025. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the WWU 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 WWU 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: December 4, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-29255 Filed 12-11-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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