[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 94 (Thursday, May 15, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27929-27931]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11243]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-15441; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Beneski Museum of Natural 
History, Amherst College, Amherst, MA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Beneski Museum of Natural History, Amherst College 
(formerly the Pratt Museum of Natural History) has completed an 
inventory of human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian 
tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there 
is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and present-day 
Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal

[[Page 27930]]

descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization not identified in this notice that wish to request 
transfer of control of these human remains should submit a written 
request to the Beneski Museum of Natural History, Amherst College. If 
no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human 
remains to the lineal descendants, Indian tribes, or Native Hawaiian 
organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or 
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to the 
Beneski Museum of Natural History, Amherst College at the address in 
this notice by June 16, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Tekla A. Harms, NAGPRA Coordinator, Beneski Museum of 
Natural History, Amherst College, Amherst, MA 01002, telephone (413) 
542-2711, email [email protected].

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 under 
the control of the Beneski Museum of Natural History, Amherst College, 
Amherst, MA. The human remains were removed from the towns of 
Easthampton in Hampshire County, MA, and Greenfield in Franklin County, 
MA.
    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 was made by the NAGPRA 
Coordinator and museum staff of the Beneski Museum of Natural History, 
Amherst College, working with the professional staff of the University 
of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Anthropology, in consultation 
with representatives of the Mashantucket Pequot Indian Tribe 
(previously listed as the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut); 
Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribe (previously listed as the Mashpee 
Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council, Inc.); Mohegan Indian Tribe of 
Connecticut; Narragansett Indian Tribe; Stockbridge Munsee Community, 
Wisconsin; Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah); and non-Federally 
recognized Indian groups, including Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, St. 
Francis/Sokoki Band, VT; Abenaki Nation of New Hampshire; Cowasuck Band 
of the Pennacook-Abenaki People, NH; Elnu Tribe of the Abenaki, VT; 
Koasek (Cowasuck) Traditional Band of the Koas Abenaki Nation, VT; 
Koasek Traditional Band of the Sovereign Abenaki Nation, VT; Nulhegan 
Band of the Coosuk-Abenaki Nation, VT; and Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck 
and Nipmuc Nation, MA. Representatives of the University of 
Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Anthropology, on behalf of the 
Beneski Museum of Natural History, Amherst College, also contacted but 
did not consult with the non-Federally recognized Indian groups 
Schaghticoke Indian Tribe and Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, CT.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1871, human remains representing, at minimum, four individuals 
were removed from a site in the town of Easthampton at the north end of 
Mt Tom, in Hampshire County, MA. The remains were excavated during 
construction for a railroad and were donated to Amherst College by 
Horatio N. Rust sometime before 1916. The human remains include four 
crania or partial crania, cranial fragments, and several teeth, along 
with one post-cranial skeletal element, best identified as two adults 
and two children. Contemporaneous catalog entries indicate the remains 
were understood at the time of excavation to be Native American and to 
represent burial sites of the indigenous population. These human 
remains have been identified as Nonotuck. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1916, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from the Cheapside site in the town of Greenfield, 
Franklin County, MA. This individual was encountered during railroad 
construction and removed by Ralph Wheaton Whipple of Amherst College, 
working in collaboration with Harris Hawthorne Wilder of Smith College. 
The individual is represented by post-cranial skeletal elements with 
some burial dirt attached and is best identified as an adult male over 
the age of 50. Records suggest that the skeleton was at Smith College 
in 1941, but held at Amherst College at all other times. 
Contemporaneous field notes and a publication (American Anthropologist, 
1917) indicate the remains were understood at the time of excavation to 
be Native American and to represent burial sites of the indigenous 
population. These remains are identified as Pocumtuck. No known 
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Multiple lines of evidence--guided by tribal consultations--
including geographic location, maps, oral tradition, linguistic, and 
historical records demonstrate a shared group identity between the 
human remains in this notice and the Narragansett Indian Tribe; 
Stockbridge Munsee Community, Wisconsin; Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head 
(Aquinnah) (hereafter referred to as ``The Tribes''); and non-Federally 
recognized Indian groups, including Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, St. 
Francis/Sokoki Band, VT; Abenaki Nation of New Hampshire; Cowasuck Band 
of the Pennacook-Abenaki People, NH; Elnu Tribe of the Abenaki, VT; 
Koasek (Cowasuck) Traditional Band of the Koas Abenaki Nation, VT; 
Koasek Traditional Band of the Sovereign Abenaki Nation, VT; Nulhegan 
Band of the Coosuk-Abenaki Nation, VT; and Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck 
and Nipmuc Nation, MA (hereafter referred to as ``The Indian Groups'').

Determinations Made by the Beneski Museum of Natural History, Amherst 
College

    Officials of the Beneski Museum of Natural History, Amherst College 
(formerly the Pratt Museum of Natural History) have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of five 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 Tribes and The Indian Groups.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to Tekla A. 
Harms, NAGPRA Coordinator, Beneski Museum of Natural History, Amherst 
College, Amherst, MA 01002, telephone (413) 542-2711, email 
[email protected] by June 16, 2014. After that date, if no additional 
requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the human remains 
to The Tribes may proceed.

[[Page 27931]]

    The Beneski Museum of Natural History, Amherst College is 
responsible for notifying The Tribes and The Indian Groups that this 
notice has been published.

    Dated: April 2, 2014.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2014-11243 Filed 5-14-14; 8:45 am]
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