[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32778-32779]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14567]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0028266; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology 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 Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. 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 Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology at the address in this notice by August 8, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Patricia Capone, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, 
telephone (617) 496-3702, email [email protected] .edu.

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 Peabody Museum of 
Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. The human 
remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Shawnee 
Island, Smithfield Township, Monroe County, PA.
    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 Peabody 
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology professional staff in consultation 
with representatives of the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of 
Oklahoma; Delaware Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of Indians; Eastern 
Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Shawnee Tribe; and the Stockbridge Munsee 
Community, Wisconsin.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1878, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from Shawnee Island, Smithfield Township, Monroe County, 
PA, by Charles C. Abbott during a Peabody Museum-sponsored expedition 
and were sent to the Peabody Museum in July 1878. No known individuals 
were identified. The four associated funerary objects are one white 
clay tobacco pipe, two blue glass beads, and one lot of wampum beads. 
All of the associated funerary objects with the exception of the pipe 
were also sent to the Peabody Museum in July 1878; the pipe was sent to 
the Museum in October 1878.
    Abbott described the collection location for the human remains and 
objects as ``big Shawnee Island 4 ms. above Delaware Water Gap'' in New 
Jersey. The island Abbott references is likely Shawnee Island, which is 
located on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River in the Delaware 
Water Gap region in Smithfield Township, Monroe County. Abbott may have 
been unaware of the location of Shawnee Island in relation to the state 
line and consequently misattributed it to New Jersey. Shawnee Island 
has been documented by variants of that name since its first purchase 
in 1727, including ``Shawna Island,'' ``Great Shawna,'' and 
``Shawano.''
    Osteological characteristics indicate that this individual is 
Native American. This interment likely dates to the Contact Period 
(post A.D. 1640), based on the date ranges of the associated funerary 
objects. The white clay tobacco pipe is Dutch in form and resembles 
Friederich's Dutch pipe index type 9166 of group 1, with a date range 
of 1640-1655. This pipe very closely resembles pipes produced by Edward 
Bird, whose pipes were manufactured from approximately 1638 until 1665. 
The pipe's bore diameter is \8/64\'', a diameter typically dated to 
1620-1650 but extending to 1680. The pipe's shape, bore size, and 
maker's mark suggest that it was manufactured by Edward Bird between 
1640 and 1655. The two glass beads are of Kidd and Kidd type IIIa12, 
consisting of tubular drawn, compound beads with a bright blue exterior 
and core and an opaque white layer in between, and are common on Native 
sites from the 1640s through the 1650s. The white clay tobacco pipe and 
two glass beads support a Contact Period date range of A.D. 1640-1659.
    Archeological evidence, historical documentation, and oral 
histories indicate that the identifiable earlier group for the human 
remains and associated funerary objects is the Munsee-speaking Lenape 
people, also known as the Minisink or Munsee. The human remains and 
associated funerary objects were collected from an area of the Delaware 
Water Gap considered to be part of the aboriginal homelands and 
traditional burial areas of the Munsee-speaking Lenape people. Although 
the Shawnee briefly occupied a portion of the Delaware River Valley 
from 1694 until 1728, there is insufficient archeological, 
anthropological, linguistic, and historical evidence to place the 
Shawnee settlement in the area of Shawnee Island. As the Munsee-
speaking Lenape migrated west, they joined communities at Stockbridge 
and further west, including Unami-speaking Lenape (Delaware) 
communities, and established present-day communities in Oklahoma, 
Ontario, and Wisconsin. The descendants of the Munsee-speaking Lenape 
are found among the present-day Delaware Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware 
Tribe of Indians; and Stockbridge Munsee Community, Wisconsin.

Determinations Made by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology

    Officials of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology have 
determined that:

[[Page 32779]]

     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(3)(A), the four 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 Delaware 
Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of Indians; and the Stockbridge Munsee 
Community, Wisconsin.

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 Patricia Capone, Peabody Museum of 
Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, 
Cambridge, MA 02138, telephone (617) 496-3702, email 
[email protected] .edu, by August 8, 2019. After that date, if no 
additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects to the Delaware Nation, 
Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of Indians; and the Stockbridge Munsee 
Community, Wisconsin may proceed.
    The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is responsible for 
notifying the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Delaware 
Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of Indians; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of 
Oklahoma; Shawnee Tribe; and the Stockbridge Munsee Community, 
Wisconsin that this notice has been published.

    Dated: June 21, 2019.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2019-14567 Filed 7-8-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P