[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 5, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65875-65876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26353]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: U.S. Department of 
the Interior, National Park Service, Delaware Water Gap National 
Recreation Area, Bushkill, 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. 3005, of the intent 
to repatriate cultural items in the possession of the U.S. Department 
of the Interior, National Park Service, Delaware Water Gap National 
Recreation Area, Bushkill, PA, that meet the definition of 
``unassociated funerary objects'' under 25 U.S.C. 3001.

[[Page 65876]]

    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 
superintendent, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
    In 1967, human remains and funerary objects were removed from the 
Miller Field site during legally authorized excavations by Seton Hall 
University, under the direction of Herbert Kraft. According to Kraft, 
the human remains were reburied in the early 1990s prior to the 
promulgation of NAGPRA's regulations. The two unassociated funerary 
objects are one celt and one stone. The burial style and diagnostic 
artifacts date the burial to the Minisink phase (A.D. 1350-1650) of the 
Late Woodland Period.
    In 1971, human remains and funerary objects were removed from the 
Harry's Farm site in Warren County, NJ, during legally authorized 
excavations by Seton Hall University, under the direction of Herbert 
Kraft. According to Kraft, the human remains were reburied in the early 
1990s prior to the promulgation of NAGPRA's regulations. The two 
unassociated funerary objects are an incised pipe and a plain pipe. The 
Munsee Incised style pipe dates the burial to the Minisink phase (A.D. 
1350-1650) of the Late Woodland Period.
    In 1974, funerary objects were removed from the Minisink site, in 
Sussex County, NJ, during legally authorized excavations by Seton Hall 
University, under the direction of Herbert Kraft. According to Kraft, 
the human remains were not removed from their burial pits. The 11 
unassociated funerary objects are 1 ceramic pot, 1 pestle fragment, 1 
celt fragment, 1 milling stone, 2 biface fragments, 3 rim sherds, 1 
teshoa, and 1 brass chain. Burial styles and diagnostic artifacts date 
two burials to the Late Woodland Period (A.D. 1000-1650), while the 
brass chain dates a third burial to the Historic Period (circa A.D. 
1650-1750).
    In 1972, human remains and funerary objects were removed from the 
Pahaquarra site in Warren County, NJ, during legally authorized 
excavations by Seton Hall University under the direction of Herbert 
Kraft. According to Kraft, the human remains were reburied in the early 
1990s prior to the promulgation of NAGPRA's regulations. The 61 
unassociated funerary objects are 2 pots, 38 black glass beads, 4 blue 
faceted glass beads, 1 red glass bead, 2 shell beads, 2 brass wire hair 
spools, 2 gunflints, 6 flintlock trade gun fragments, 1 clasp knife, 1 
bag of botanical remains, and 2 metal fragments. Burial styles and 
pottery types date two burials to the Late Woodland Period (A.D. 1000-
1650). The remaining items date to the Historic Period (circa A.D. 
1650-1750).
    Archeological evidence indicates that the people living in the 
Upper Delaware Valley formed a distinct group with unique stone tool 
traditions, bone tool traditions, settlement patterns, subsistence 
patterns, and burial styles as early as A.D. 1000. Continuity in the 
artifact styles, settlement and subsistence patterns, and burial styles 
suggest that the same people remained in the Upper Delaware Valley 
throughout the Late Woodland Period (A.D. 1000-1650) and into the 
Historic Period (circa A.D. 1650-1750). Historic records from the 17th 
and 18th centuries refer to the inhabitants of the Upper Delaware 
Valley, including Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, as 
``Minisink.'' Linguistic information indicates that these people spoke 
the Munsee dialect of the Delaware language. During consultations, 
tribal representatives identified the Upper Delaware Valley as the 
traditional territory of the Lenape, or the Delaware-speaking people. 
As their traditional lands were sold, some Munsee people joined the 
Stockbridge Mohican in Massachusetts and New York and remained with 
them when the community resettled in Wisconsin. Today their descendants 
are members of the Stockbridge Munsee Community. Other Munsee people 
joined communities comprised primarily of people from southern New 
Jersey and Pennsylvania who spoke the Unami dialect of the Delaware 
language. These combined Delaware communities migrated westward and 
eventually settled in Oklahoma. Today descendants of these communities 
are members of the Delaware Nation, Oklahoma or the Delaware Tribe of 
the Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma.
    Officials of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(B), the 76 cultural 
items 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 and are believed, by a preponderance of 
the evidence, to have been removed from a specific burial site of a 
Native American individual. Officials of Delaware Water Gap National 
Recreation Area 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 unassociated funerary objects and the 
Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Nation, Oklahoma; and Stockbridge 
Munsee Community, Wisconsin.
    When consultation was initiated, the Delaware Tribe of Indians, 
Oklahoma was Federally recognized. During consultations, court rulings 
determined that the Delaware Tribe cannot be recognized as a separate 
entity from the Cherokee Nation and that the Delaware Tribe is a part 
of the Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma. A cultural affiliation determination 
was made with the Delaware Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma prior to its 
change in status. This determination is reflected in this notice as 
affiliation with the Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the unassociated funerary objects should 
contact John J. Donahue, Superintendent, Delaware Water Gap National 
Recreation Area, River Road, Bushkill, PA 18324, telephone (570) 426-
2418, before December 5, 2008. Repatriation of the unassociated 
funerary objects to the Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Nation, 
Oklahoma; and Stockbridge Munsee Community, Wisconsin may proceed after 
that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is responsible for 
notifying the Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Nation, Oklahoma; and 
Stockbridge Munsee Community, Wisconsin that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: October 21, 2008
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E8-26353 Filed 11-4-08; 8:45 am]
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