[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 149 (Monday, August 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46707-46708]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16776]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0030584; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Warren Anatomical Museum, Harvard 
University, Boston, MA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and Warren 
Anatomical Museum, Harvard University, have completed an inventory of 
human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, and 
have determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and present-day Indian Tribes. Representatives of any Indian 
Tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human 
remains may contact the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, 
Harvard University. Repatriation of the human remains to the Indian 
Tribes stated below may occur if no additional claimants come forward.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian Tribe that believes it has a 
cultural affiliation with the human remains should contact the Peabody 
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University at the address 
below by September 2, 2020.

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

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 Warren Anatomical Museum, Harvard University, 
Boston, MA. The human remains were removed from Dedham, Norfolk County, 
MA.
    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. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Peabody 
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and Warren Anatomical Museum 
professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Mashpee 
Wampanoag Tribe (previously listed as Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribal 
Council, Inc.); Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah); and the Assonet 
Band of the Wampanoag Nation, a non-federally recognized Indian group.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1856, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual, 
Mr. Alexander Quapish, were removed from Dedham in Norfolk County, MA, 
by Dr.

[[Page 46708]]

Henry Jacob Bigelow. Bigelow transferred Mr. Quapish's remains to the 
Warren Anatomical Museum. Museum records describe the decedent as 
``Qualish, the last of the Indian tribe at Dedham, Mass.; was buried in 
1774; aet. 68.'' There is no additional information in museum records 
about the context in which these human remains were found. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Museum information shows by a preponderance of the evidence that 
the human remains are of the Native American individual Alexander 
Quapish, whose name is recorded variously in the historical record, for 
example as: Qualish, Quapes, Quapish, Queppish. Primary records and 
secondary histories indicate Mr. Quapish and his wife, Sarah David, 
were Native Americans living in Dedham. According to a local historian 
and to vital records for the Town of Dedham, Massachusetts, Mr. Quapish 
was from Yarmouth, Massachusetts, Wampanoag territory. Mr. Quapish may 
have moved to Dedham because both Dedham and Yarmouth were associated 
with a network of Native American Christianized settlements. Shortly 
after Sarah David's death in 1774, Mr. Quapish enlisted in the 
Continental Army. Alexander Quapish reportedly died in 1776, at the age 
of 34, in Needham, Massachusetts, and may have been buried in Needham 
or Natick, rather than Dedham. The possibility of repatriation to 
lineal descendants was explored in consultation with Wampanoag 
representatives. After consultation and genealogical review, however, 
no lineal descendants have been identified.
    Osteological examination of the human remains indicates that they 
are probably of an adult male and are of Native American ancestry. This 
information most closely matches the documented history of Alexander 
Quapish. Although some documented elements of his personal history, 
including burial in Needham or Natick, death in 1776, and age at death 
do not match information in Warren Anatomical Museum records, 
historical documentation and osteological examination indicate by a 
preponderance of the evidence that this individual is Alexander 
Quapish.

Determinations Made by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology 
and the Warren Anatomical Museum, Harvard University

    Officials of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and 
the Warren Anatomical Museum, Harvard University have determined that:
     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), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native 
American human remains and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (previously 
listed as Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council, Inc.) and the 
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), Indian Tribes that represent 
people of Wampanoag descent.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any Indian Tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Patricia 
Capone, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard 
University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, telephone (617) 
496-3702, by September 2, 2020. After that date, if no additional 
requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the human remains 
to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (previously listed as Mashpee Wampanoag 
Indian Tribal Council, Inc.) and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head 
(Aquinnah) may proceed.
    The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology on behalf of the 
Warren Anatomical Museum, Harvard University is responsible for 
notifying the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (previously listed as Mashpee 
Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council, Inc.); Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head 
(Aquinnah); and the Assonet Band of the Wampanoag Nation, a non-
federally recognized Indian group, that this notice has been published.

    Dated: July 6, 2020.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2020-16776 Filed 7-31-20; 8:45 am]
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