[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 210 (Wednesday, October 29, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 64367]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-25763]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington, DC, and 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 3003, of the 
completion of an inventory of human remains and associated funerary 
objects in the control of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau 
of Indian Affairs, Washington, DC, and in the possession of the New 
York State Museum, Albany, NY. The human remains and associated 
funerary objects were removed from Dukes County, MA.
    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 and associated funerary objects. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by New York 
State Museum professional staff in consultation with representatives of 
the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Acquinnah) of Massachusetts.
    In 1966, human remains representing a minimum of two individuals 
were recovered from the Howland 2 Site, Dukes County, Martha's Vineyard 
Island, MA, during an archeological survey conducted by Frank 
Schambach, New York State Museum staff. No known individuals were 
identified. The nine associated funerary objects are eight wrought iron 
nails with wood adhering and a fragment of deer bone scapula.
    The Howland 2 Site is located on Shotnine Hill overlooking 
Squibnocket Pond within the historic boundaries of the community of Gay 
Head. The human remains were found in two separate locations on the 
same site. Wrought iron nails associated with one of the individuals 
dates the burial to post-European contact, dated to circa 18th-19th 
centuries. Although the only funerary object found with the second 
individual consisted of a fragment of animal bone, the depth of the 
burial, which was over 4 1[sol]2 feet deep, and its proximity to the 
other individual of historic age, indicates that these human remains 
may also date to a post-contact time period.
    Historic records indicate that the Wampanoag have maintained a 
continuous presence on Martha's Vineyard, despite colonization of the 
island by Euroamericans in A.D. 1641. In 1711, Gay Head was established 
as a reservation for the Wampanoag Gay Head Indians by the Society for 
the Propogation of the Gospel in New England. In 1714, the community 
was closed off to the public by a ditch and gate enclosure, along what 
is now the boundary with Chilmark. The Howland 2 Site is located within 
this boundary. Its location within the historic boundary of Gay Head 
suggests that the site was used for burial by residents of the 
Wampanoag community, rather than by Euroamericans.
    Historic information indicates that the area of the Howland 2 Site 
has been part of Wampanoag-use lands since 1711. Archeological evidence 
indicates that the burials most likely date to a time subsequent to the 
establishment of the Gay Head community for the Wampanoag Indians by 
the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England. Based on 
this historical and archeological evidence, officials of the New York 
State Museum have determined that the human remains and funerary 
objects are culturally affiliated with the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head 
(Aquinnah) of Massachusetts. Officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
concur with the determinations in this notice.
    Officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and New York State Museum 
have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human 
remains described above represent the physical remains of two 
individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of the Bureau of 
Indian Affairs and New York State Museum have also determined that, 
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(A), the nine objects described above are 
reasonably believed to have been placed with or near individual human 
remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or 
ceremony. Lastly, officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and New 
York State Museum 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 associated 
funerary objects and the Wampanpoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) of 
Massachusetts.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary 
objects should contact Lisa M. Anderson, NAGPRA Coordinator, New York 
State Museum, 3049 CEC, Albany, NY 12230, telephone (518) 486-2020, 
before November 28, 2008. Repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects to the Wampanpoag Tribe of Gay Head 
(Aquinnah) of Massachusetts may proceed after that date if no 
additional claimants come forward.
    The New York State Museum is responsible for notifying the 
Wampanpoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) of Massachusetts that this 
notice has been published.

    Dated: September 30, 2008
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E8-25763 Filed 10-28-08; 8:45 am]
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