[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 125 (Friday, June 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29929-29930]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13739]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-23301; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Museum of Natural History and 
Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, Providence RI

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams 
Park, has completed an inventory of human remains and associated 
funerary objects, 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 associated funerary 
objects and present-day Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. 
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 and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request to the Museum of 
Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park. If no additional 
requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects 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 and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to the Museum of Natural History and 
Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, at the address in this notice by July 
31, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Michael W. Kieron, Museum of Natural History and 
Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, 1000 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, RI 
02907, telephone (401) 680-7248, 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 and 
associated funerary objects under the control of the Museum of Natural 
History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park. The human remains and 
associated funerary objects were removed from the Miller Cave site 
(23PU2) in Pulaski County, MO.
    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 and associated funerary objects. 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 Museum 
of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, professional 
staff in consultation with representatives of the Apache Tribe of 
Oklahoma; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; 
Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; and The Osage Nation (previously listed 
as the Osage Tribe).

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1927, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from the Miller Cave site (23PU2) in Pulaski County, MO, 
by Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Nadeau. The human remains, consisting of one 
adult metacarpal, and the associated funerary objects were donated to 
the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, by 
Mr. and Mrs. Nadeau on January 23, 1933. No known individuals were 
identified. The 16 associated funerary objects include 1 polished tip 
of a white-tailed deer antler, 1 partial white-tailed deer antler, 9 
partial white-tailed deer bones, 1 piece of a spiny softshell turtle 
carapace, and 4 potsherds. Most of the objects were labeled as being 
from Miller Cave, Pulaski County, MO.
    The human remains and associated funerary objects were part of a 
collection of 50 lots of American Indian objects and geological 
specimens collected in the 1920s by the Nadeaus. No records related to 
this donation have been located.
    The human remains and associated funerary objects were accessioned 
(catalog number E2730, accession number 8943) and stored with objects 
collected in 1927 from North Carolina and Young County, Texas. The 
objects from North Carolina and Texas were labeled according to their 
provenience. The entire group was entered into the catalog as ``Bones 
and Potsherds, Pulaski Co., Missouri; Young Co., Texas; North 
Carolina.'' Many of the American Indian objects donated at this time 
were

[[Page 29930]]

treated in a similar manner, with objects from disparate localities 
being cataloged together.
    Due to this generalized catalog entry, the human remains were 
originally reported by the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium in 
an inventory as culturally unidentifiable (CUI). A 1983 study 
identified the human remains as American Indian based on the associated 
funerary objects. Following an examination by representatives of The 
Osage Nation (previously listed as the Osage Tribe) in January 2016, 
The Osage Nation and the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, 
Roger Williams Park concurred that the human remains and associated 
funerary objects are from a burial site located on Osage ancestral 
lands.

Determinations Made by the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, 
Roger Williams Park

    Officials of the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger 
Williams Park, have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of 1 individual of Native 
American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 16 objects described 
in this notice 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.
     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 associated funerary objects and The Osage 
Nation (previously listed as the Osage Tribe).

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 and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to Michael W. Kieron, Museum of Natural History 
and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, 1000 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, 
RI 02907, telephone (401) 680-7248, email [email protected], by 
July 31, 2017. After that date, if no additional requestors have come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects to The Osage Nation (previously listed as the Osage 
Tribe) may proceed.
    The Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, 
is responsible for notifying the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Comanche 
Nation, Oklahoma; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Kiowa Indian Tribe 
of Oklahoma; and The Osage Nation (previously listed as the Osage 
Tribe) that this notice has been published.

    Dated: April 24, 2017.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2017-13739 Filed 6-29-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P