[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 179 (Monday, September 20, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52178-52179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20262]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0032608; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: 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, Harvard 
University, 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 both 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 Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. 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 Peabody Museum of 
Archaeology and Ethnology at the address in this notice by October 20, 
2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Capone, Curator and NAGPRA 
Director, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard 
University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, telephone (617) 
496-3702, 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 Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard 
University, Cambridge, MA, that meet the definitions 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

    In 1889, one cultural item was removed from the White Earth Indian 
Reservation in northwest Minnesota. Dr. Walter James Hoffman acquired 
the item, a birchbark scroll, when studying the Midewiwin on behalf of 
the Bureau of American Ethnology. In 1891, the Bureau of American 
Ethnology donated the scroll to the United States National Museum, 
known today as the National Museum of Natural History. The Peabody 
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology received the birchbark scroll in 
1906, as part of an exchange with the National Museum of Natural 
History. The scroll measures 36 x 11 cm. and is inscribed with eight 
separate figures. Museum documentation describes it as a ``Record of a 
song used in gathering of remedies.'' The birchbark scroll has been 
identified as both a sacred object and an object of cultural patrimony.
    In the early 1900s, one cultural item was removed from the White 
Earth Indian Reservation in northwest Minnesota by Albert G. Heath, a 
collector and dealer of Native American objects in the early half of 
the 1900s. In March of 1952, the Denver Art Museum received the item, a 
birchbark scroll, as an anonymous donation through Julius Carlebach, a 
prominent New York art dealer. The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology received the scroll in March of 1953, as part of an exchange 
with the Denver Art Museum. The birchbark scroll measures 134 x 31 cm. 
and is made up of three separate panels that have been hand-stitched 
together with fiber twine. Each panel is inscribed with a detailed 
scene. Museum documentation describes the birchbark scroll as ``used as 
a memory device in rites of the Midewiwin Society.'' The birchbark 
scroll has been identified as both a sacred object and an object of 
cultural patrimony.
    Museum documentation and information obtained through consultation 
with representatives from the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota 
(White Earth Band), indicate these two cultural items are Ojibwe and 
are from the White Earth Indian Reservation, Minnesota. Historical and 
ethnographic data indicate that birchbark scrolls are part of the 
ritual items of the Midewiwin religion. Consultation evidence specifies 
the physical presence of the scrolls at Midewiwin ceremonies, as well 
as their importance to Mide practitioners in the dissemination of 
cosmological information and ceremonial practices. These two items meet 
the definition of sacred objects because they are specific ceremonial 
objects required by the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (White 
Earth Band), to properly perform Midewiwin ceremonies.
    Historical and ethnographic data demonstrate that these two 
cultural items also have ongoing historical, traditional, and cultural 
importance central to the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (White 
Earth Band). Consultation evidence indicates that birchbark scrolls are 
not owned or alienable by an individual; rather, individuals serve as 
caretakers for the scrolls. These caretakers serve as custodians of the 
community knowledge, collective legacy, and heritage contained within 
the birchbark scrolls. These two cultural items meet the definition of 
objects of cultural patrimony because they have ongoing historical, 
traditional, and cultural importance central to the Minnesota Chippewa 
Tribe, Minnesota (White Earth Band) for the proper performance of 
Midewin ceremonies, and could not have been alienated or conveyed by an 
individual.

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

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

[[Page 52179]]

     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(C), the two 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 two 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 Minnesota Chippewa 
Tribe, Minnesota (White Earth Band).

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 Patricia Capone, Peabody Museum of 
Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, 
Cambridge, MA 02138, telephone (617) 496-3702, email 
[email protected], by October 20, 2021. After that date, if no 
additional claimants have come forward, transfer of control of the 
sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony to the Minnesota 
Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (White Earth Band) may proceed.
    The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University 
is responsible for notifying the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota 
(White Earth Band) that this notice has been published.

    Dated: September 7, 2021.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2021-20262 Filed 9-17-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P