[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 104 (Wednesday, June 1, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31524-31525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-10820]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Kutztown University of 
Pennsylvania, Kutztown, PA

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. 3003, of the 
completion of an inventory of human remains in the possession of 
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown, PA. The human remains 
were removed from Depauville, Jefferson County, NY.
    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 the Native 
American human remains. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Kutztown 
University of Pennsylvania professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Onondaga Nation of New York and the St. Regis 
Band of Mohawk Indians of New York.
    In the summer of 1972, human remains representing a minimum of 31 
individuals were removed from the Enderton site (CLN-82), Depauville, 
Jefferson County, NY, by Peter Miller. Mr. Miller was an employee of 
Kutztown State College (now known as Kutztown University of 
Pennsylvania). The land was privately owned by James Enderton. The 
excavation was halted by a court injunction against Mr. Miller, and the 
human remains were taken back to Kutztown State College. Later that 
same year, the human remains of 10 individuals removed from the 
Enderton site were returned to the Onondaga Nation of New York and the 
St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York for reburial on the 
Onondaga

[[Page 31525]]

reservation. The human remains representing a minimum of 21 individuals 
have been curated at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania since that 
time. No known individuals were identified. No funerary objects are 
present.
    There are no artifacts from the site in the possession of Kutztown 
University of Pennsylvania. The collection has not been carbon dated, 
and establishing an associated date is not possible in the absence of 
artifacts. Mr. Miller, however, has reported that the graves were 
located in association with longhouses, and that some non-funerary 
objects (pottery) were recovered from the surface of the village. The 
only archeologically known sites that demonstrate similar burial 
patterns are from the Late Woodland (A.D. 800-1500) to historic time 
periods (A.D. 1500-present). The dentition of the individuals currently 
in the possession of Kutztown University of Pennsylvania suggests that 
individuals from several different time periods were removed from the 
site. The site may be 2,000-200 years old, though it most likely dates 
from the Late Woodland through contact and into early Historic periods.
    The remains are considered to be Native American based on 
historical documents and skeletal features. Although many different 
burial customs are evident, the burial customs and location of the 
graves suggest that the remains are of Mohawk or Onondaga origin. 
Archeological evidence and oral history indicate that the Mohawk and 
Onondaga people, represented by the present-day Onondaga Nation of New 
York and St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York, have occupied 
this area since circa A.D. 1350.
    Officials of Kutztown University of Pennsylvania have determined 
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9- 10), the human remains described 
above represent the physical remains of 21 individuals of Native 
American ancestry. Officials of Kutztown University of Pennsylvania 
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 Native American human remains and the Onondaga Nation of 
New York and the St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Dr. 
James Delle, Department of Anthropology, Kutztown University of 
Pennsylvania, Kutztown, PA 19530, telephone (610) 683-4243, before July 
1, 2005. Repatriation of the human remains to the Onondaga Nation of 
New York may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come 
forward. The St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York supports the 
repatriation of the human remains to the Onondaga Nation of New York.
    Kutztown University of Pennsylvania is responsible for notifying 
the Onondaga Nation of New York and the St. Regis Band of Mohawk 
Indians of New York that this notice has been published.

    Dated: May 20, 2005
Paul Hoffman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 05-10820 Filed 5-31-05; 8:45 am]
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