[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23594-23595]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09925]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-17978;PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: Brooklyn Museum, 
Brooklyn, NY

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Brooklyn Museum, in consultation with the appropriate 
Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, has determined that the 
cultural items listed in this notice meet the definition of sacred 
objects and objects of cultural patrimony. Lineal descendants or 
representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not 
identified in this notice that wish to claim these cultural items 
should submit a written request to the Brooklyn Museum. If no 
additional claimants come forward, transfer of control of the cultural 
items 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 
claim these cultural items should submit a written request with 
information in support of the claim to the Brooklyn Museum at the 
address in this notice by May 28, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Susan Kennedy Zeller, Associate Curator of Native American 
Art, Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238-6052, 
telephone (718) 501-6282, 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. 3005, of the intent to repatriate cultural items under the 
control of the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, that meet the definition 
of sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony under 25 U.S.C. 
3001.
    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 cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

History and Description of the Cultural Items

    Between 1903 and 1910, 24 cultural items were removed from the 
Pueblo of Laguna in Cibola, Valencia, Bernalillo, and Sandoval 
Counties, NM. Through research of museum records and archives, every 
indication is that these Laguna items were collected by Lorenzo Wurth, 
former clerk in Bebo's Store located near Laguna Pueblo, and purchased 
from him by the Brooklyn Museum's curator Stewart Culin in 1910. A 
letter from Wurth to Culin (April 19, 1908) offers items for sale, and 
a Wurth inventory of some 160 items dated October 3, 1909, was also 
sent to Culin. The inventory list provides general descriptions such as 
``dance Mask,'' and ``sacred mask'' and ``prayer sticks.'' A museum 
accession number ``11478'' was assigned to this entire collection in 
October 1910 in the museum's accession ledger. In subsequent years, 11 
items have been found in the collection with tags bearing numbers 
matching the Wurth inventory list. Given the small number of Laguna 
items in the collection, it is logical to assume that items matching 
this list's description belong to this 1910 group. Culin's expedition 
reports also document his visit to Laguna Pueblo in 1903, his meeting 
there with clerk Lorenzo Wurth, and the fact that Wurth had a 
collection of masks and sacred items that interested Culin. The 24 
sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony proposed for 
repatriation are: One mask piece, five Katsina Friends, 11 prayer 
sticks tied in pairs of two each, and seven single prayer sticks.
    The review of available documentation, in addition to physical 
inspections by two Pueblo of Laguna delegations, has resulted in 
confirmation from the Pueblo of Laguna religious leaders that the 
cultural items are of Pueblo of Laguna origin. The Pueblo of Laguna 
asserts that a relationship of shared group identity exists between the 
Pueblo of Laguna in 1910, and the present-day Pueblo of Laguna. The 
Katsina Friends were created within the Pueblo of Laguna religious 
system with construction techniques still in use today. In addition to 
the positive identification by the Laguna Pueblo religious leaders that 
the cultural items are of Laguna Pueblo origin, cultural affiliation 
with the Pueblo of Laguna is evident by these diagnostic features.

Determinations Made by the Brooklyn Museum

    Officials of the Brooklyn Museum have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(C), the 24 cultural items 
described above are specific ceremonial objects needed by traditional 
Native American religious leaders for the practice of traditional 
Native American religions by their present-day adherents.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(D), the 24 cultural items 
described above have ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural 
importance central to the Native American group or culture itself, 
rather than property owned by an individual.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the sacred 
objects and objects of cultural patrimony and the Pueblo of Laguna, New 
Mexico.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native 
Hawaiian

[[Page 23595]]

organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim these 
cultural items should submit a written request with information in 
support of the claim to Susan Kennedy Zeller, Associate Curator of 
Native American Art, Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 
11238-6052, telephone (718) 501-6282, email 
[email protected], by May 28, 2015. After that date, if 
no additional claimants have come forward, transfer of control of the 
sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony to the Pueblo of 
Laguna may proceed.
    The Brooklyn Museum is responsible for notifying the Pueblo of 
Laguna that this notice has been published.

    Dated: March 20, 2015.
Mariah Soriano,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2015-09925 Filed 4-27-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-P