[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 136 (Friday, July 16, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42773-42774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-16147]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Intent to Repatriate a Cultural Item: New York State 
Museum, Albany, NY

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, of the intent 
to repatriate a cultural item in the possession of the New York State 
Museum, Albany, NY, that meets the definition 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 (d)(3). 
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of these 
cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations in this notice.
    The cultural item is a wampum belt known as the Akwesasne Wolf 
Wampum Belt. The belt is composed of 14 rows of white beads and purple 
beads. The purple beads depict two human figures with joined hands 
flanked by outward-facing wolf-like figures and, at the extreme ends of 
the belt, short horizontal stripes. The wampum belt is strung on 
leather warps with plant-fiber cordage wefts and is mounted on linen 
backing. The wampum belt measures 32.5 inches long and 4.4 inches wide. 
The New York State Museum acquired the wampum belt in the late 19th 
century from Harriet Maxwell Converse of New York City (catalog number 
E-37429). Museum records indicate that Mrs. Converse purchased the 
wampum belt ``from a St. Regis Indian'' on July 24, 1898.
    At the time of collection, the wampum belt was reported to record a 
treaty dating to the mid-18th century between the French and Mohawks. 
In 1901, William M. Beauchamp wrote about the belt: ``The Mohawks 
treated with the French, but were never in their alliance, and the 
emblems on the belt are those of the middle of the 18th-century. At 
that time, the western Iroquois were balancing between the

[[Page 42774]]

English and French.'' According to expert analysis, the nonuniform size 
and shape of the beads also are indicative of a mid- to late 18th-
century origin. The beads that comprise the belt are composed of older 
and newer wampum beads, and traces of red paint on some of the newer 
white beads are consistent with their reuse after inclusion in an 
earlier belt.
    The wampum belt is culturally affiliated with the St. Regis Band of 
Mohawk Indians of New York, representing the Akwesasne Mohawk community 
composed of the St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York; Mohawk 
Nation Council of Chiefs, Akwesasne; and Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, 
Akwesasne. Cultural affiliation is clearly established in the records 
of the New York State Museum and in numerous published reports. The New 
York State Museum has determined that the historical significance of 
the wampum belt indicates that the belt qualifies as an object that has 
ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the 
St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York. Consultation evidence 
provided by representatives of the St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of 
New York; Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, Akwesasne; and Mohawk Nation 
Council of Chiefs, Akwesasne also indicates that no individual had or 
has the right to alienate a community-owned wampum belt.
    Officials of the New York State Museum have determined that, 
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(D), the cultural item has ongoing 
historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the Native 
American group or culture itself, rather than property owned by an 
individual. Officials of the New York State Museum also have determined 
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), there is a relationship of shared 
group identity that can be reasonably traced between the object of 
cultural patrimony and the St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New 
York. Officials of the New York State Museum recognize that the Mohawk 
Nation Council of Chiefs, Akwesasne; and Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, 
Akwesasne also have a legitimate interest in the object of cultural 
patrimony.
    Representatives of any other federally recognized Indian tribe that 
believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the object of cultural 
patrimony should contact Lisa Anderson, NAGPRA Coordinator, New York 
State Museum, 3122 Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY 12230, 
telephone (518) 486-2020, before August 16, 2004. Repatriation of the 
object of cultural patrimony to the St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of 
New York, representing the Akwesasne Mohawk community composed of the 
St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York; Mohawk Nation Council of 
Chiefs, Akwesasne; and Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, Akwesasne may 
proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The New York State Museum is responsible for notifying the St. 
Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York; Mohawk Nation Council of 
Chiefs, Akwesasne; and Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, Akwesasne that this 
notice has been published.

    Dated: June 7, 2004.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources.
[FR Doc. 04-16147 Filed 7-15-04; 8:45 am]
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