[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 71 (Thursday, April 12, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18981-18982]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-8985]


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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 Museum 
of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, 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 Museum of Archaeology 
and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, 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 the Peabody 
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology professional staff in consultation 
with representatives of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma; 
Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; Forest County Potawatomi 
Community of Wisconsin Potawatomi Indians, Wisconsin; Hannahville 
Indian Community of Wisconsin Potawatomie Indians of Michigan; Ho-Chunk 
Nation of Wisconsin; Huron Potawatomi, Inc., Michigan; Iowa Tribe of 
Kansas and Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Lower Sioux Indian 
Community of Minnesota Mdewakanton Sioux Indians of the Lower Sioux 
Reservation in Minnesota; Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi 
Indians of Michigan; Omaha Tribe of Nebraska; Otoe-Missouria Tribe of 
Indians, Oklahoma; Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Pokagon Band of 
Potawatomi Indians of Michigan; Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; 
Ponca Tribe of Nebraska; Prairie Band of Potawatomi Indians, Kansas; 
Prairie Island Indian Community of Minnesota Mdewakanton Sioux Indians 
of the Prairie Island Reservation, Minnesota; Sac & Fox Nation of 
Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox 
Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa; Santee Sioux Tribe of the Santee 
Reservation of Nebraska; Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe of the Lake 
Traverse Reservation, South Dakota; Spirit Lake Tribe, North Dakota; 
Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; 
Upper Sioux Indian Community of the Upper Sioux Reservation, Minnesota; 
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska; and the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South 
Dakota.
    In 1939, human remains representing one individual were donated to 
the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology by Mrs. Gotty Benthal. 
No known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Correspondence from the donor indicates that these human remains 
were removed in 1856 from a recent grave of a ``Musquoka chief'' in 
Quasqueton, Buchanan County, IA, by John M. Benthal of Quasqueton, IA. 
Consultation evidence presented by representatives of the Sac & Fox 
Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; the Sac & Fox Nation, 
Oklahoma; and the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, and 
historical evidence indicate that the Musquoka, or Meskwaki, tribe 
inhabited a large portion of eastern Iowa from the early 1700s to the 
present day. Based on the historic date of the burial, the specific 
cultural attribution of the individual provided by the collector, and 
historical evidence of a strong Meskwaki presence in eastern Iowa in 
the mid-1800s, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology has 
determined that these remains are most likely those of a Meskwaki 
individual. The Meskwaki are represented by the present-day Sac and Fox 
Nation of Missouri in Kansas, the Sac and Fox Nation, Oklahoma, and the 
Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa.
    In 1938, human remains representing one individual were donated to 
the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology by J.H. Spindler of the 
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY. No known individual was identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Museum records indicate that these remains are from an unknown 
location in Iowa and are the remains of a ``Musquatie Indian.'' 
Consultation evidence presented by representatives of the Sac & Fox 
Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; the Sac & Fox Nation, 
Oklahoma; and the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, and 
historical evidence indicate that the Musquatie, or Meskwaki, tribe 
inhabited a large portion of eastern Iowa from the early 1700s to the 
present day. Based on the specific cultural attribution of the 
individual provided by the collector, and historical evidence of a 
strong Meskwaki presence in Iowa, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology has determined that these remains are most likely those of a 
Meskwaki individual. The Meskwaki are represented by the present-day 
Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; the Sac & Fox 
Nation, Oklahoma; and the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa.
    Based on the above-mentioned information, officials of the Peabody 
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology have determined that, pursuant to 
43 CFR 10.2 (d)(1), the human remains listed above represent the 
physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry. 
Officials of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology also have 
determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2(e), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between these 
Native American human remains and the Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in 
Kansas and Nebraska; the Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; and the Sac & Fox 
Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Citizen Potawatomi 
Nation,

[[Page 18982]]

Oklahoma; Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; Forest County 
Potawatomi Community of Wisconsin Potawatomi Indians, Wisconsin; 
Hannahville Indian Community of Wisconsin Potawatomie Indians of 
Michigan; Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Huron Potawatomi, Inc., 
Michigan; Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; 
Lower Sioux Indian Community of Minnesota Mdewakanton Sioux Indians of 
the Lower Sioux Reservation in Minnesota; Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band 
of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan; Omaha Tribe of Nebraska; Otoe-
Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma; Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; 
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians of Michigan; Ponca Tribe of Indians 
of Oklahoma; Ponca Tribe of Nebraska; Prairie Band of Potawatomi 
Indians, Kansas; Prairie Island Indian Community of Minnesota 
Mdewakanton Sioux Indians of the Prairie Island Reservation, Minnesota; 
Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, 
Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa; Santee Sioux 
Tribe of the Santee Reservation of Nebraska; Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux 
Tribe of the Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota; Spirit Lake 
Tribe, North Dakota; Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold 
Reservation, North Dakota; Upper Sioux Indian Community of the Upper 
Sioux Reservation, Minnesota; Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska; and the 
Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. Representatives of any other 
Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with 
these human remains should contact Barbara Isaac, Repatriation 
Coordinator, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard 
University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, telephone (617) 
495-2254, before May 14, 2001. Repatriation of the human remains to the 
Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; the Sac & Fox 
Nation, Oklahoma; and the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa 
may begin after that date if no additional claimants come forward.

    Dated: March 27, 2001.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.
[FR Doc. 01-8985 Filed 4-11-01; 8:45 am]
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