[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 48291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-22771]


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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 the Ely Site, Monroe County, NY.
    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 Seneca Nation of New York, Seneca-Cayuga Tribe 
of Oklahoma, and Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians of New York.
    Around 1940, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed from the Burgett or Ely Site (RMSC HNE 124), Monroe 
County, NY, by Robert Hill. In 1941, the remains were accessioned by 
the Department of Physical Anthropology at the Museum of the American 
Indian, Heye Foundation. In 1956, the remains were transferred 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 list the locality of origin 
of the human remains as the ``Burgett Site, West Rush, N.Y.'' Labels 
with the remains repeat this information and specify that they were 
removed from burial 12 or 13. Cranial morphology and tooth shape is 
consistent with an individual of Native American ancestry. New York 
State Historic Preservation Office site files identify the Burgett site 
as the Ely Site, RMSC HNE 124. Archeologists have interpreted the Ely 
Site as a protohistoric Seneca site based on the ceramic types, pipe 
styles, lithics, and European materials present at the site and found 
in association with the burials. Consultations with the Seneca Nation 
of New York, Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma, and Tonawanda Band of 
Seneca Indians of New York confirm the identification of the Ely Site 
as a Seneca site.
    After European contact, the Seneca were divided geopolitically into 
two groups, the Eastern Seneca and the Western Seneca. The Eastern 
Seneca remained in New York, while the Western Seneca moved to Ohio and 
then Oklahoma. The Eastern Seneca are represented today by two 
Federally-recognized tribes, the Seneca Nation of New York and 
Tonawanda Band of Seneca of New York. The Western Seneca are 
represented by the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma.
    Officials of 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 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 Seneca Nation 
of New York, Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma, and Tonawanda Band of 
Seneca Indians of New York.
    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 October 22, 
2009. Repatriation of the human remains to the Seneca Nation of New 
York, Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma, and Tonawanda Band of Seneca 
Indians of New York may proceed after that date if no additional 
claimants come forward.
    The New York University College of Dentistry is responsible for 
notifying the Seneca Nation of New York, Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of 
Oklahoma, and Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians of New York that this 
notice has been published.

    Dated: September 2, 2009
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E9-22771 Filed 9-21-09; 8:45 am]
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