[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 99 (Friday, May 22, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29733-29735]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-12533]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-18165; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP15.R50000]


Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Forest Service, Hiawatha National Forest, Gladstone, MI

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, 
Hiawatha National Forest, 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 
unassociated funerary objects. 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 Hiawatha National Forest. If no additional claimants 
come forward,

[[Page 29734]]

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 Hiawatha National Forest at 
the address in this notice by June 22, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Eric Drake, Heritage Program Manager, Hiawatha National 
Forest, 820 Rains Drive, Gladstone, MI 49837, telephone (906) 428-5817, 
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 Hiawatha National Forest and in the possession of the 
Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, that meet the definition 
of unassociated funerary objects 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 Item(s)

    At an unknown date prior to 1943, 116 cultural items were removed 
from gravesites associated with the Ojibwa/Chippewa and Odawa/Ottawa 
Village and Cemetery/Ossuary site (20MK3), located on Round Island in 
Mackinac County, MI. Mr. Harvey E. Bouwknegt (1888-1967) of Grandville, 
MI, donated the Bouwknegt (Bowknegtt, or Brouwknect) Collection to the 
Chicago Natural History Museum (later renamed the Field Museum of 
Natural History), where the cultural items were accessioned in 1943.
    Round Island is located within Royce Area 205, which was ceded to 
the U.S. Government by the Ottawa and Chippewa Tribes of Michigan in 
the 1836 Treaty of Washington. Under Article 3 of this treaty, Round 
Island is defined as ``a place of encampment for the Indians, to be 
under the charge of the Indian department.'' In 1873, the U.S. 
Government set aside 8.24 acres of land on Round Island for the 
construction of a lighthouse, and in 1875, deeded the remainder of the 
island, including the location of site 20MK3, to the State of Michigan 
for the creation of a state park. A state park was never created, 
however, and so the ownership of the island reverted to the Federal 
government in 1935, and Round Island was established as National Forest 
Land in 1938.
    The 116 objects in the Bouwknegt Collection, therefore, were more 
than likely removed from site 20MK3 during the period when the island 
was owned by the State of Michigan (1875-1935). The Michigan State 
Historic Preservation office, however, has formally deferred its 
responsibilities as the lead agency to the Hiawatha National Forest for 
this repatriation case.
    The 116 unassociated funerary objects consist of 10 buckles, 39 
links, 2 silver gorgets, 7 silver armbands, 4 silver bracelets, 1 
silver Maltese cross, 1 silver Latin cross, 1 silver Florentine cross, 
21 silver brooches, 1 silver hair tube, 2 silver beaver effigies, 1 
silver breast ornament, 5 silver breast ornament pieces, 1 silver 
ornament, 15 silver earrings, and 5 beads. The Field Museum catalog 
numbers for these items are 47832-47838, 47840-47843, 47845-47870, 
47872, 47873, and 47875. Sixteen of the silver trade items have maker's 
marks stamped on them that roughly date between1760 and 1810. These 
objects and the other items in the Bouwknegt Collection are comparable 
to silver trade items recovered from contemporary Ojibwa and Odawa 
village sites and cemeteries located throughout Michigan and the Upper 
Great Lakes.
    Twenty-one tribes (see list below) were consulted through a 
combination of formal letters, emails, and phone conversations to 
determine the disposition of these cultural items. Seven formally 
expressed their support for repatriating the Bouwknegt Collection to 
the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians who submitted the formal 
claim to repatriate this collection. The remaining fourteen tribes did 
not formally respond to our invitation to comment. None, however, 
expressed concern or disapproval.

Determinations Made by the Hiawatha National Forest

    Officials of the Hiawatha National Forest have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the 116 unassociated 
funerary objects described above are reasonably believed to have been 
placed with or near individual human remains at the time of death or 
later as part of the death rite or ceremony and are believed, by a 
preponderance of the evidence, to have been removed from a specific 
burial site of a Native American individual.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the 
unassociated funerary objects and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of 
Chippewa Indians.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    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 Eric Drake, Heritage Program Manager, 
Hiawatha National Forest, 820 Rains Drive, Gladstone, MI 49837, 
telephone (906) 428-5817, email [email protected], by June 22, 2015. 
After that date, if no additional claimants have come forward, transfer 
of control of the unassociated funerary objects to the Sault Ste. Marie 
Tribe of Chippewa Indians may proceed.
    The Hiawatha National Forest is responsible for notifying the Bad 
River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the Bad River 
Reservation, Wisconsin; Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan; Fond du 
Lac Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota; Grand Traverse 
Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Hannahville Indian 
Community, Michigan; Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigan; Lac 
Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; 
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du 
Flambeau Reservation of Wisconsin; Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake 
Superior Chippewa Indians of Michigan; Little River Band of Ottawa 
Indians, Michigan; Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, 
Michigan; Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of 
Michigan; Mille Lacs Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota; 
Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, Michigan (previously listed 
as the Huron Potawatomi, Inc.); Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior 
Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, 
Minnesota; Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan; Sault Ste. Marie 
Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan; St. Croix Chippewa Indians of 
Wisconsin; and the non-federally recognized Indian groups, Burt Lake 
Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and Grand River Band of Ottawa 
Indians, that this notice has been published.


[[Page 29735]]


    Dated: April 16, 2015.
Mariah Soriano,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2015-12533 Filed 5-21-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-P