[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 82 (Thursday, April 30, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19977-19978]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-9983]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: New York University College of 
Dentistry, New York City, 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 control of the New 
York University College of Dentistry, New York City, NY. The human 
remains were removed from Mackinaw City, Cheboygan County, MI.
    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.

[[Page 19978]]

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the New York 
University College of Dentistry professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa 
Indians, Michigan and Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, 
Michigan.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from Mackinaw City in Cheboygan County, MI. At 
an unknown date, the human remains came into the possession of Walter 
C. Wyman of Chicago, IL. In 1915, Mr. Wyman donated the human remains 
to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York City, 
NY. In 1956, the human remains were transferred to Dr. Theodore 
Kazamiroff, New York University College of Dentistry. No known 
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Based on the cranial morphology of the human remains, the 
individual is identified as Native American. Information associated 
with the human remains identify them as ``----- [illegible] Saugema, 
Ottawa Tribe.'' The Ottawa are also known by the name Odawa. 
``Saugema'' is an Odawa family name in the Mackinaw area and variants 
are recorded for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa. Although a 
surname is listed for the human remains, lineal descendants could not 
be identified because the specific identity of the individual could not 
be determined. The identification of a surname indicates that the human 
remains date to the Historic period.
    The area of Mackinaw City corresponds to the territory of the 
Odawas after European contact. The Odawa people entered the written 
record in 1615, when the French encountered them at the eastern shores 
of Lake Huron on the Georgian Bay. Soon after this, the Odawas left the 
Lower Peninsula of Michigan because of Iroquoian raids, but returned to 
Michigan after the Iroquois were repelled from the area by the Odawas 
and other Great Lakes tribes in the mid-1600s. By 1673, the Odawas had 
established villages at the Straits of Mackinac. One village was 
located at Michilimackinac, in present-day Mackinaw City. A letter 
dating to 1710 describes Odawa mortuary practices at Michilimackinac 
that are consistent with the physical condition of the human remains. 
Odawa people have remained in the Mackinaw area since their return in 
the 17th century. In addition, Odawa oral traditions identify the 
Mackinac area as an area of aboriginal occupation for many generations 
prior to European contact, and Mackinaw City is part of the ancestral 
lands of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan.
    Officials of the New York University College of Dentistry have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains 
described above represent the physical remains of one individual of 
Native American ancestry. Officials of the New York University College 
of Dentistry 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 Little 
Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Dr. 
Louis Terracio, New York University College of Dentistry, 345 East 24th 
St, New York, NY 10010, telephone (212) 998-9917, before June 1, 2009. 
Repatriation of the human remains to the Little Traverse Bay Bands of 
Odawa Indians, Michigan may proceed after that date if no additional 
claimants come forward.
    The New York University College of Dentistry is responsible for 
notifying the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, 
Michigan and Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan that 
this notice has been published.

    Dated: April 13, 2009.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E9-9983 Filed 4-29-09; 8:45 am]
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