[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 87 (Thursday, May 7, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 21397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-10546]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: New York University College of 
Dentistry, 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 
New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY. The human 
remains were removed from an unknown location.
    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 New York 
University College of Dentistry professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Jena Band of Choctaw 
Indians, Louisiana; and Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, 
Mississippi.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from an unknown location. They were acquired by 
Dr. Joseph Jones of Louisiana at an unknown date. In 1906, the widow of 
Dr. Jones sold his collection to the Museum of the American Indian, 
Heye Foundation. In 1956, the Museum of the American Indian transferred 
the human remains to Dr. Theodore Kazamiroff, New York University 
College of Dentistry. No known individual was identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Museum of the American Indian records indicate that the human 
remains are from an unknown location, but possibly either from 
Louisiana or Mississippi, and are the human remains of a Choctaw 
individual. The cranial morphology of the human remains confirms that 
they belong to an individual of Native American ancestry. No 
information from the museum records, osteological assessment, or 
consultation conflicts with the identification of the human remains as 
Choctaw. Tribal representatives of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Jena 
Band of Choctaw Indians, Louisiana; and Mississippi Band of Choctaw 
Indians, Mississippi, support the identification of the human remains 
as Choctaw, and identify both Louisiana and Mississippi as the 
ancestral homelands of the Choctaw.
    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 Choctaw Nation 
of Oklahoma; Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, Louisiana; and Mississippi 
Band of Choctaw Indians, Mississippi.
    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 8, 2009. 
Repatriation of the human remains to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; 
Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, Louisiana; and Mississippi Band of 
Choctaw Indians, Mississippi may proceed after that date if no 
additional claimants come forward.
    The New York University College of Dentistry is responsible for 
notifying the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, 
Louisiana; and Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Mississippi that 
this notice has been published.

    Dated: April 13, 2009.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E9-10546 Filed 5-6-09; 8:45 am]
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