[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 87 (Thursday, May 7, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 21399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-10594]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Warren Anatomical Museum, Harvard 
University, Boston, MA

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 and 
control of Warren Anatomical Museum, Harvard University, Boston, MA. 
The human remains were removed from the Island of Hawaii, HI.
    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 Peabody 
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and Warren Anatomical Museum 
professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Hawaii 
Island Burial Council, Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei, Oahu 
Island Burial Council, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of six 
individuals were removed from the Island of Hawaii, HI, by J.W. 
Whitney. The human remains were purchased by the Harvard Dental School 
Faculty for the Harvard Dental School Museum in 1893. Between 1936 and 
1968, the human remains were transferred to the Warren Anatomical 
Museum. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    Osteological characteristics indicate that the human remains are 
Native American. Museum documentation states that these individuals 
were recovered from ``lava caves'' on the Island of Hawaii. 
Anthropological and historic information indicates that cave interments 
are consistent with traditional Native Hawaiian mortuary practices. In 
addition, archeological and historic documentation combined with oral 
traditions support that the human remains are from an area considered 
to be part of the aboriginal homelands of ancestral Native Hawaiians. 
Present-day groups that represent Native Hawaiians for the Island of 
Hawaii are the Hawaii Island Burial Council, Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O 
Hawai'i Nei, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
    Officials of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and 
Warren Anatomical Museum have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 
3001 (9-10), the human remains described above represent the physical 
remains of six individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of 
the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and Warren Anatomical 
Museum 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 Hawaii Island 
Burial Council, Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei, and the Office of 
Hawaiian Affairs.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian 
Organization that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the 
human remains should contact Patricia Capone, Repatriation Coordinator, 
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, 11 
Divinity Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138, telephone (617) 496-3702, before 
June 8, 2009. Repatriation of the human remains to the Hawaii Island 
Burial Council, Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei, and the Office of 
Hawaiian Affairs may proceed after that date if no additional claimants 
come forward.
    The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and Warren 
Anatomical Museum are responsible for notifying the Hawaii Island 
Burial Council, Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei, Oahu Island 
Burial Council, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs that this notice has 
been published.

    Dated: April 28, 2009.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E9-10594 Filed 5-6-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-S