[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 164 (Friday, August 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48671-48672]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-16786]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Intent to Repatriate a Cultural Item: Denver Museum of 
Nature & Science, Denver, CO

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

[[Page 48672]]

to repatriate a cultural item in the possession of the Denver Museum of 
Nature & Science, Denver, CO, which meets the definitions of ``sacred 
object'' and ``object 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 the cultural 
items. The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations in this notice.
    The cultural item is a Beaver Chilkat Shirt, which is also called a 
tunic, as the terms are used interchangeably to describe the item (AC. 
11604). The sleeveless, untailored garment consists of rectangular 
front and back sections with woven shoulders and a round neck opening, 
which is joined loosely at the sides below armholes. The fabric was 
created by means of twined weaving in handspun mountain goat wool and 
yellow cedar bark, which is a technique known as Chilkat twining from 
its specialty production by Chilkat Tlingit women. The entire design 
field of the front is filled with intricate stylized forms that have 
been interpreted as a beaver in natural wool dyed in colors of black, 
yellow, and green. The open white ground of the back tunic is centered 
at the top with a mask form and crossed lower with bands of geometric 
patterns, including a basal checkerboard. The bottom edges are fringed.
    In 1974, the cultural item was sold by Marc Jacobs, Sr. to Michael 
R. Johnson of Seattle, WA, a collector and dealer. In October 1974, the 
cultural item was purchased by Adelaide de Menil and Dr. Edmund 
Carpenter. In August 1976, it was transferred to Howard B. Roloff 
through an exchange requested by Mary W. A. Crane. The museum 
accessioned the cultural item into the collection later that same year.
    During consultation, representatives of the Central Council of the 
Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes gave oral history of the tunic as a clan 
``treasured property,'' and its place in clan belief and ceremonial 
practice. The tunic's history began four generations ago with a 
daughter of Chief Shakes IV and can be traced to a line of caretakers 
up to 1974. The tunic is identified as an item of Chilkat regalia among 
the most valued of ceremonial clothing used in funerary rites and is 
high status apparel at traditional ceremonies and potlatches. The tunic 
is required for the ceremonial rites conducted to renew and ensure the 
spiritual harmony of the Tlingit people. The tunic is not owned by a 
single individual, instead there are designated caretakers and it 
belongs to the clan as a whole, and therefore it could not have been 
alienated by a single individual.
    According to museum records, the line of caretakers starts in 1890 
with a Tlingit family in Angoon, AK, and also corroborates Tlingit 
accounts of the tunic's sale by Mark Jacobs, Sr. Tlingit of the 
Deisheetaan Clan of the Needlefish House are from Angoon, AK, and are 
represented in this claim by the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida 
Indian Tribes.
    Officials of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science have determined 
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(C), the one cultural item is a 
specific ceremonial object needed by traditional Native American 
religious leaders for the practice of traditional Native American 
religions by their present-day adherents. Officials of the Denver 
Museum of Nature & Science have also determined that, pursuant to 25 
U.S.C. 3001 (3)(D), the one 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. 
Lastly, officials of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), there is a 
relationship of shared group identity which can be reasonably traced 
between the sacred object/object of cultural patrimony and the Central 
Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the sacred object/object of cultural 
patrimony should contact Dr. Stephen Nash, Chair, Department of 
Anthropology, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado 
Boulevard, Denver, CO 80205, telephone (303) 370-6056, before September 
24, 2007. Repatriation of the cultural item to the Central Council of 
the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes on behalf of the Deisheetaan Clan of 
the Needlefish House, Angoon, AK, may proceed after that date if no 
additional claimants come forward.
    The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is responsible for notifying 
the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes that this 
notice has been published.

    Dated: August 8, 2007.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E7-16786 Filed 8-23-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-S