[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 4, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6126-6127]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02214]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-17331;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, and has determined that no cultural affiliation between the 
human remains and any present-day Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations can be established on the basis of the documentation 
available. 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 Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in 
this notice may proceed.

DATES: 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 March 6, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Tekla A. Harms, NAGPRA Coordinator, Beneski Museum of 
Natural History, Amherst College, Amherst, MA 01002, telephone (413) 
542-2233, 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. 
The human remains were removed from Tennessee.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3) and 
43 CFR 10.11(d). 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, and their agents, in consultation with representatives 
of the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Alabama-Coushatta 
Tribe of Texas (previously listed as the Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of 
Texas); Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town; Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of 
Cherokee Indians; Poarch Band of Creeks (previously listed as the 
Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama); Seminole Tribe of Florida 
(previously listed as the Seminole Tribe of Florida (Dania, Big 
Cypress, Brighton, Hollywood & Tampa Reservations)); Shawnee Tribe; The 
Chickasaw Nation; The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; The Muscogee (Creek) 
Nation; The Quapaw Tribe of Indians; The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; 
Thlopthlocco Tribal Town; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee 
Indians in Oklahoma. Representatives of the Beneski Museum also 
contacted, but were not able to consult with, the Eastern Shawnee Tribe 
of Oklahoma, Kialegee Tribal Town, and the Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe.

History and Description of the Remains

    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Tennessee. The remains consist of one 
cranium that is without the lower jaw, without part of the upper jaw, 
and missing many teeth. The cranium appears to have been modified 
during growth. It is markedly flattened in the forehead, and flattened 
and indented on the back of the cranium, opposite the forehead, so that 
the forehead and back of the cranium slope toward the top of the 
cranium. The sides of the cranium bulge out slightly, so that the face 
looks widened, especially in the cheekbones. Minor repairs in plaster 
or putty were made to the cranium at some time.
    The Beneski Museum of Natural History, Amherst College has no 
collection or provenience information for these remains. The only 
existing information derives from inked lettering on the cranium, which 
says: ``Indian S. Tennessee Adult [male gender symbol] CW.'' The 
cranium also bears the numbers GT 2045 and A-32, neither of which 
corresponds to any cataloging system in use at any time in the history 
of the Beneski Museum. No known individuals have been identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.

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

    Officials of the Beneski Museum of Natural History, Amherst College 
have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice are Native American based on the physical evidence from 
the cranium.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), a relationship of shared 
group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the Native American 
human remains and any present-day Indian tribe.
     According to final judgments of the Indian Claims 
Commission, the land from which the Native American human remains were 
removed is the aboriginal land of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
     Treaties, Acts of Congress, or Executive Orders, including 
Indian Land Cessions in the period 1784-1894 for the State of 
Tennessee, indicate that the land from which the Native American human 
remains were removed is the aboriginal land of the Cherokee Nation; 
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; The Chickasaw Nation; and the United 
Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the 
human remains may be the Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee 
Indians; The Chickasaw Nation; and the United Keetoowah Band of 
Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    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) 542-2233, email [email protected], by March 6, 2015. 
After that date, if no additional requestors have come

[[Page 6127]]

forward, transfer of control of the human remains to the Cherokee 
Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; The Chickasaw Nation; the 
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma; and the Quapaw 
Tribe of Indians (when joined to the request of one or more of the 
foregoing Indian tribes) may proceed.
    The Beneski Museum of Natural History, Amherst College is 
responsible for notifying the Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee 
Indians; The Chickasaw Nation; and the United Keetoowah Band of 
Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma that this notice has been published.

    Dated: December 16, 2014.
Melanie O'Brien,
Acting Program Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2015-02214 Filed 2-3-15; 8:45 am]
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