[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 45 (Friday, March 7, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11139-11140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-5513]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: U.S. Department of 
the Interior, National Park Service, Sitka National Historical Park, 
Sitka, AK

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves 
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3005, Sec. 7, of 
the intent to repatriate cultural items in the possession of the U.S. 
Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Sitka National 
Historical Park, Sitka, AK, that meet the definition of ``objects of 
cultural patrimony'' under 25 U.S.C. 3001.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003, Sec. 5 
(d)(3). The determinations within this notice are the sole 
responsibility of the National Park unit that has control of these 
cultural items. The Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship 
and Partnerships is not responsible for the determinations within this 
notice.
    The first object is a Russian blacksmith's hammer known as K'alyaan 
aayi t[aacute]kl' or Katlian's Hammer. The hammerhead is iron, formed 
in a modified cylindrical shape. Rounded, hammered surfaces are at both 
ends, with a large crack running through the entire body near the 
topside. The hammer measures 14 centimeters long by 4.5 centimeters in 
diameter. An oval hole for a handle is in the middle of the length of 
the head. The handle is missing.
    In 1972 Mrs. Mary Williams, a Kiks.[aacute]di woman of Sitka, AK, 
sold the hammer to Sitka National Historical Park.
    The claim asserting that the hammer is an object of cultural 
patrimony was filed by the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian 
Tribes acting on behalf of the Kiks.[aacute]di clan of Sitka, AK. 
Originally a Russian blacksmith's hammer, it was captured by the 
Kiks.[aacute]di during their 1802 attack on the Russian fort at Old 
Sitka, and subsequently used by the Kiks.[aacute]di warrior K'alyaan 
during the Kiks.[aacute]di battle against the Russians in 1804 at the 
mouth of Indian River in Sitka. It is a Western object that took on 
ceremonial significance in Kiks.[aacute]di memory, symbolizing their 
loss of life and resistance to domination. Oral history recordings and 
archival documentation at Sitka National Historical Park, as well as 
evidence provided by the Kiks.[aacute]di clan of Sitka, confirm that 
the hammer has been and is of ongoing historical, traditional, or 
cultural importance to the clan and that no individual had the right to 
alienate it from clan ownership.
    The second object is a Chilkat robe known as the Yaaw T'eiy[iacute] 
Naaxein or Herring Rock Robe. The robe is 5 feet 4 inches wide and 3 
feet long at its deepest point, with a row of fringe 16 inches long 
along the bottom edge. It is woven of goat wool and cedar bark in the 
traditional manner. The crest design, woven in green, black, yellow, 
and white, represents the story of the Herring Rock in Sitka.
    The robe was commissioned in the traditional manner by Mrs. Sally 
Hopkins of the Kiks.[aacute]di clan and woven by Mrs. Anna Klaney of 
Klukwan in 1938. It was passed from Mrs. Hopkins to her son, Peter 
Nielsen. Peter Nielsen sold the robe to Mr. Joe Ashby of Sitka in 1967, 
and Mr. Ashby sold the robe to the Mt. McKinley Natural History 
Association in 1969. The Mt. McKinley Natural History Association 
donated the robe to Sitka National Historical Park that year.
    The claim asserting that the robe is an object of cultural 
patrimony was filed by the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian 
Tribes acting on behalf of the Kiks.[aacute]di clan of Sitka, AK. Oral 
history recordings, archival documentation, and historical photographs 
in the collection of Sitka National Historical Park and the Southeast 
Alaska Indian Cultural Center, as well as testimony provided by the 
Kiks.[aacute]di clan of Sitka, identify the Herring Rock site, Herring 
Rock crest, Herring Rock story, and the Herring Rock robe as 
traditional property of the Kiks.[aacute]di clan of Sitka. As an object 
of cultural patrimony, the Herring Rock Robe has been and is of ongoing 
historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the clan 
itself. The clan also states that such property is held in perpetuity 
by the group, and may not be alienated by an individual clan member.
    Officials of Sitka National Historical Park have determined that, 
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001, Sec. 2 (3)(D), these cultural items have 
ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the 
Native American group or culture itself, rather than property owned by 
an individual.
    Officials of Sitka National Historical Park also have determined 
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001, Sec. 2 (2), there is a relationship 
of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between these 
objects of cultural patrimony and the Central Council of Tlingit and 
Haida Indian Tribes acting on behalf of the Kiks.[aacute]di clan of 
Sitka, AK.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with these objects of cultural patrimony 
should contact Gary Gauthier, Superintendent, Sitka National Historical 
Park, P.O. Box 738, Sitka, AK 99835, telephone (907) 747-6281, before 
April 7, 2003. Repatriation of these objects of cultural patrimony to 
the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes acting on behalf 
of the Kiks.[aacute]di clan of Sitka, AK, may begin after that date if 
no additional claimants come forward.
    Sitka National Historical Park is responsible for notifying the 
Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes acting on behalf of 
the Kiks.[aacute]di

[[Page 11140]]

clan of Sitka, AK, that this notice has been published.

    Dated: January 21, 2003.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.
[FR Doc. 03-5513 Filed 3-6-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-S