[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 194 (Friday, October 5, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51062-51064]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-24964]


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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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[[Page 51063]]

    Notice is hereby given in accordance with the provisions of the 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 42 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 and associated funerary 
objects was made by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology 
professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Cayuga 
Nation of New York; Delaware Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of 
Indians, Oklahoma; Oneida Nation of New York; Oneida Tribe of 
Wisconsin; Onondaga Nation of New York; St. Regis Band of Mohawk 
Indians of New York; Seneca Nation of New York; Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of 
Oklahoma; Stockbridge-Munsee Community of Mohican Indians of Wisconsin; 
Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians of New York; Tuscarora Nation of New 
York; and the nonfederally recognized Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs.
    In 1906, human remains representing 41 individuals were recovered 
from Heath Farm, in Rodman, NY, during a Peabody Museum expedition led 
by M.R. Harrington and I. Hayden. No known individuals were identified. 
The six associated funerary objects are unfinished celts, bone awls, 
yellow ochre, and animal bones.
    Museum documentation indicates that the Heath Farm site is on the 
western border of the township of Rodman, approximately 1.5 miles west 
of the village of Rodman, along the northern bank of the North Sandy 
Creek. Interments from this site most likely date to the Late Woodland 
period (A.D. 1000-1600). Artifacts recovered from the site, but not 
associated with the burials, support this date. These objects include 
Levanna- and Madison-style projectile points, ceramic vessels with 
globular bodies, constricted, zoned incised necks, and castellated 
rims, and a variety of terra cotta pipes, including pipes with trumpet-
shaped bowls and bowls with representations of human faces and animals.
    In 1906, human remains representing 14 individuals were recovered 
from Durfee Farm, in Ellisburg, NY, during a Peabody Museum expedition 
led by M.R. Harrington and I. Hayden. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Museum documentation indicates that the Durfee Farm site is in the 
township of Ellisburg, 3 miles north-northwest of the village of 
Pierrepont Manor, between Taylor Brook and Spring Brook, in the 
vicinity of a scattered group of farmhouses that were known locally as 
the ``Taylor settlement.'' The site lies on a low, flat-topped hill 
historically known as the ``Old Fort lot,'' once belonging to the old 
Durfee farm. Interments from this site most likely date to the Late 
Woodland period (A.D. 1000-1600). Artifacts recovered from the site, 
but not associated with the burials, support this date. These objects 
include Levanna- and Madison-style projectile points, ceramic vessels 
with globular bodies, constricted, zoned incised necks, and castellated 
rims, and a variety of terra cotta pipes, including pipes with trumpet-
shaped bowls and bowls with representations of human faces and animals.
    In 1906, human remains representing three individuals were 
recovered from the Perch River Bay site, in Brownville, NY, during a 
Peabody Museum expedition led by M.R. Harrington and I. Hayden. No 
known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Museum documentation indicates that the Perch River Bay site is 
located along the shore of Lake Ontario, at the head of Perch River Bay 
(now known as Black River Bay), in the township of Brownville, 
southwest of the village of Limerick, on what was then the farm of 
Julius Maynard. Interments from this site most likely date to the Late 
Woodland period (A.D. 1000-1600). Artifacts recovered from the site, 
but not associated with the burials, support this date. These objects 
include Levanna- and Madison-style projectile points, ceramic vessels 
with globular bodies, constricted, zoned incised necks, and castellated 
rims, and a variety of terra cotta pipes, including pipes with trumpet-
shaped bowls and bowls with representations of human faces and animals.
    Excavation and museum records clearly indicate that these human 
remains and associated funerary objects were removed from specific 
burials of Native American individuals. Based on the archeological 
materials from the sites, museum documentation, and oral histories 
presented by the Oneida Nation of New York and Oneida Tribe of 
Wisconsin, and the provenience of human remains and associated funerary 
objects from areas considered to be aboriginal homelands and 
traditional burial areas of the Oneida Nation of New York and Oneida 
Tribe of Wisconsin, a reasonable link of shared group identity may be 
made to the Oneida Nation of New York and Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin.
    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 58 individuals of Native American ancestry. 
Officials of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology also have 
determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(2), the six associated 
funerary objects described above are reasonably believed to have been 
placed with or near individual human remains at the times of death or 
later as part of the death rite or ceremony. Lastly, officials at the 
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology 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 associated funerary objects and the Oneida Nation of 
New York and the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Cayuga Nation of New 
York; Delaware Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma; 
Oneida Nation of New York; Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin; Onondaga Nation 
of New York; St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York; Seneca 
Nation of New York; Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma; Stockbridge-Munsee 
Community of Mohican Indians of Wisconsin; Tonawanda Band of Seneca 
Indians of New York; Tuscarora Nation of New York; and the nonfederally 
recognized Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs. Representatives of any 
other Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated 
with these objects should contact Patricia Capone, Repatriation 
Coordinator, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard 
University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, telephone (617) 
496-3702, before November 5, 2001. Repatriation of these human remains 
and associated funerary objects to the Oneida Nation of New York and 
the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin may begin after that date if no 
additional claimants come forward.


[[Page 51064]]


    Dated: July 3, 2001.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.
[FR Doc. 01-24964 Filed 10-4-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F