[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 47 (Friday, March 9, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 14205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-5947]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains 
and Associated Funerary Objects in the Possession of the Peabody Essex 
Museum, Salem, MA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice is hereby given in accordance with provisions of the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 43 CFR 10.9, 
of the completion of an inventory of human remains and associated 
funerary objects in the possession of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, 
MA.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 43 CFR 10.2 (c). The 
determinations within this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of these Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations within this 
notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Peabody 
Essex Museum professional staff in consultation with representatives of 
Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai`i Nei, Ka Lahui Hawai`i, and the Office 
of Hawaiian Affairs.
    Between 1820 and 1868, human remains representing a minimum of 
three individuals were collected as part of a refuse bowl with human 
teeth by Rev. Asa Thurston and his wife, Lucy Goodale. At an unknown 
time, this bowl was sent to Goodale relatives in Marlboro, MA. In 1925, 
the Goodale collection was purchased by Stephen W. Phillips and Mrs. 
Stephen H. Phillips who donated the collection to the Peabody Essex 
Museum the same year. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Based on 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(2-4), Peabody Essex Museum officials have 
determined that this refuse bowl is not an unassociated funerary 
object, sacred object, or object of cultural patrimony. Human remains 
are defined under NAGPRA regulations 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(1) as ``the 
physical remains of the body of a person of Native American ancestry.'' 
The definition excludes from consideration under the statute human 
remains or portions of human remains that may reasonably be determined 
to have been freely given or naturally shed by the individual from 
whose body the remains were obtained.
    Based on historical and anthropological evidence, Peabody Essex 
Museum officials have determined that these teeth were not freely given 
or naturally shed from the individuals from whose bodies the teeth were 
obtained. Based on this evidence, the definition in 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(1), 
and regulatory critieria provided by the Departmental Consulting 
Archeologist for consideration by the museum, Peabody Essex Museum 
officials have determined these human remains are most likely those of 
Native Hawaiians. In making this determination, the Peabody Essex 
Museum also considered a previously published Notice of Inventory 
Completion in which the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum determined that 
human teeth set into a refuse bowl and other similar objects such as 
kahili and handles containing human remains are human remains for the 
purposes of NAGPRA.
    Based on the above-mentioned information, officials of the Peabody 
Essex Museum have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(1), the 
human remains listed above represent the physical remains of a minimum 
of three individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of the 
Peabody Essex Museum also have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 
(e), there is a relationship of shared group identity which can be 
reasonably traced between these Native American human remains and Hui 
Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai`i Nei, Ka Lahui Hawai`i, and the Office of 
Hawaiian Affairs.
    This notice has been sent to officials of Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O 
Hawai`i Nei, Ka Lahui Hawai`i, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. 
Representatives of any other Native Hawaiian organization that believes 
itself to be culturally affiliated with these human remains should 
contact Christina Hellmich, Director of Collections Management, Peabody 
Essex Museum, East India Square, Salem, MA 01970, telephone (978) 745-
1876, facsimile (978) 744-0036, before April 9, 2001. Repatriation of 
the human remains to the Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai`i Nei, Ka Lahui 
Hawai`i, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs may begin after that date 
if no additional claimants come forward.

    Dated: February 21, 2001.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.
[FR Doc. 01-5947 Filed 3-8-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F