[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 18, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74868-74869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30448]



[[Page 74868]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-11741; 2200-1100-665]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Department of Anthropology, 
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of 
Anthropology has completed an inventory of human remains, in 
consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes, and has determined 
that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and 
present-day Indian tribes. Representatives of any Indian tribe that 
believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains may 
contact the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of 
Anthropology. Repatriation of the human remains to the Indian tribes 
stated below may occur if no additional claimants come forward.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes it has a 
cultural affiliation with the human remains should contact the 
University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Anthropology at the 
address below by January 17, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Robert Paynter, Repatriation Committee Chair, telephone 
(413) 545-2221, or Rae Gould, Repatriation Coordinator, telephone (413) 
545-2702, University of Massachusetts, Department of Anthropology, 201 
Machmer Hall, 240 Hicks Way, Amherst, MA 01003.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of 
Anthropology. The human remains were removed from Florida, most likely 
Brevard or Indian River counties.
    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.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains and available 
documentation was made by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, 
Department of Anthropology professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma; Catawba Indian Nation 
(aka Catawba Tribe of South Carolina); Cherokee Nation; Chickasaw 
Nation; Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana; Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; 
Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Jena Band of Choctaw Indians; Miccosukee 
Tribe of Indians; Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; Modoc Tribe of 
Oklahoma; Quapaw Tribe of Indians; Seminole Tribe of Florida 
(previously listed as the Seminole Tribe of Florida (Dania, Big 
Cypress, Brighton, Hollywood & Tampa Reservations)); The Muscogee 
(Creek) Nation; The Osage Nation (previously listed as the Osage 
Tribe); The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; United Keetoowah Band of 
Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma; and the Wyandotte Nation (hereafter 
referred to as ``The Tribes''). Representatives of the University of 
Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Anthropology also contacted and 
attempted to consult with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Poarch 
Band of Creeks (previously listed as the Poarch Band of Creek Indians 
of Alabama); and the Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe.

History and Description of the Remains

    In about 1925, human remains representing, at minimum, 64 
individuals were excavated from either the area of Melbourne, in 
Brevard County, FL, or the area of Vero Beach, in Indian River County, 
FL, by F.B. Loomis, Professor of Geology at Amherst College. In the 
early 1980s, these remains were transferred from Amherst College to the 
University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Anthropology for 
permanent curation. Two additional individuals collected at the same 
time remained at Amherst College and are currently curated at the 
Beneski Museum of Natural History, Amherst College (formerly the Pratt 
Museum). These remains are the subject of a separate Notice of 
Inventory Completion.
    Most crania are marked with a red number that corresponds to an 
entry in a ledger entitled ``Catalogue of Skeletal Material, Gilbert 
Museum of Indian Relics.'' Entries in that ledger read: ``Seminole from 
Melbourne Florida.'' Although museum records regarding the human 
remains are fragmentary, provenience information associated with the 
remains indicates the following proveniences: 56 individuals from the 
``Grant Burial Heap'' or simply from ``Grant, Fla.''; five individuals 
from ``Grant Burial Heap Linx, Fla.''; one individual from ``Ballard 
Mound''; and two individuals from ``Micco, Fla.'' No known individuals 
were identified. No associated funerary objects are present with the 
human remains at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
    Many of the remains have black numbers that resemble the numbering 
system used by F.B. Loomis in the field. Loomis was engaged in 
excavating in Florida in 1923 and 1925, at least. No field notes from 
Loomis's excavations remain, but newspaper reports at the time indicate 
Loomis collected from ``burial mounds'' (Melbourne Florida Times, 
December 5, 1923). The Boston Globe on November 1, 1925, reported 
Loomis and his coworkers excavated ``in Melbourne and on the east coast 
of Florida'' for five weeks and ``at Vero Beach'' for two, obtaining 
``50 skulls and about one dozen skeletons.'' This article also 
associates these mounds with Native Americans from southern rather than 
western Florida, based on the absence of pottery or tools in the 
mounds. No doubt, this conclusion derived from an interview with Loomis 
himself. Similarly, the Globe reported, ``[t]he skeletons lay in 
formation around the mound, and when one layer was completed, earth was 
piled on and another layer begun. In this way the growth of the mound 
was effected.''
    On March 17, 1869, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from the area of ``Haul Over Canal,'' in 
Brevard County, FL, by unknown collectors. In or around 1939, the 
remains were donated to Amherst College, and, in the early 1980s, the 
remains were transferred to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, 
Department of Anthropology. The remains bear the collection number 
20137 in black ink, which corresponds to an entry in the ``Catalogue of 
the Gilbert Museum of Indian Relics in Amherst College, Volume V'' 
(presently maintained in the Amherst College Archives). The entry 
states the remains were collected ``* * * from a mound near `Haul Over 
Canal' between Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon, East Florida March 
17th, 1869.'' No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present with the human remains at the University 
of Massachusetts Amherst.
    Multiple lines of evidence--guided by tribal consultations--
including geographic, oral tradition, archaeological, linguistic, 
historical, and

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aboriginal land claims, demonstrate a shared group identity between 
these human remains and the modern-day tribes of the Muscogee (Creek) 
Nation, Oklahoma; Seminole Tribe of Florida; and The Seminole Nation of 
Oklahoma.

Determinations Made by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, 
Department of Anthropology

    Officials of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of 
Anthropology have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of 65 individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     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 Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Oklahoma; 
Seminole Tribe of Florida; and The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Robert 
Paynter, Repatriation Committee Chair, telephone (413) 545-2221, or Rae 
Gould, Repatriation Coordinator, telephone (413) 545-2702, University 
of Massachusetts, Department of Anthropology, 201 Machmer Hall, 240 
Hicks Way, Amherst, MA 01003, before January 17, 2013. Repatriation of 
the human remains to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Oklahoma; Seminole 
Tribe of Florida; and The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma may proceed after 
that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Anthropology 
is responsible for notifying The Tribes that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: November 20, 2012.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2012-30448 Filed 12-17-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-P