[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 7, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5735-5736]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-1968]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: American Museum of Natural 
History, New York, 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. 3003, of the 
completion of an inventory of human remains in the possession of the 
American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY. The human remains 
were collected from Umatilla County, OR, and Walla Walla County, WA.
    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 the American 
Museum of Natural History professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, 
Oregon.
    In 1882, human remains representing a minimum of four individuals 
were collected from sand dunes in Umatilla, Umatilla County, OR. The 
human remains were purchased by the American Museum of Natural History 
from Mr. James Terry in 1891. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    The individuals have been identified as Native American based on 
their likely association with a Native American village, the presence 
of cranial reshaping in some of the human remains, and the collector's 
practice of only collecting cultural items related to Native Americans 
from the United

[[Page 5736]]

States. Physical anthropologists who examined the human remains 
estimate them to be less than 500 years old.
    Consultation information provided by the tribe, archeological 
information, and expert opinion also indicate that the human remains 
are likely associated with the Umatilla site, a Late Prehistoric to 
Historic Umatilla village. Geographic location is consistent with the 
traditional and post-contact territory of the Confederated Tribes of 
the Umatilla Reservation, Oregon.
    In 1882, human remains representing a minimum of four individuals 
were collected from Old Wallula, Walla Walla County, WA. The human 
remains were purchased by the American Museum of Natural History from 
Mr. Terry in 1891. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    The individuals have been identified as Native American based on 
the presence of cranial reshaping in some of the human remains and the 
collector's practice of only collecting cultural items related to 
Native Americans from the United States. Physical anthropologists who 
examined the human remains estimate them to be less than 500 years old. 
Expert opinion also indicates that the human remains are likely to be 
of recent age. Geographic location is consistent with the traditional 
and post-contact territory of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla 
Reservation, Oregon.
    Officials of the American Museum of Natural History have determined 
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains described 
above represent the physical remains of eight individuals of Native 
American ancestry. Officials of the American Museum of Natural History 
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 Confederated Tribes 
of the Umatilla Reservation, Oregon.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Nell 
Murphy, Director of Cultural Resources, American Museum of Natural 
History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, 
telephone (212) 769-5837, before March 9, 2007. Repatriation of the 
human remains to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, 
Oregon may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come 
forward.
    The American Museum of Natural History is responsible for notifying 
the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, Oregon that this 
notice has been published.

    Dated: January 19, 2007.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E7-1968 Filed 2-6-07; 8:45 am]
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