[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 240 (Friday, December 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71657-71658]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27356]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0033138; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Worcester Natural History Society 
(DBA EcoTarium), Worcester, MA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Worcester Natural History Society (DBA EcoTarium) has 
completed an inventory of human remains, 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 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 should submit a 
written request to the EcoTarium. If no additional requestors come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains 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 should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to the 
EcoTarium at the address in this notice by January 18, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martin Christiansen, EcoTarium, 222 
Harrington Way, Worcester, MA 01604, telephone (508) 929-2734, 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 under 
the control of the Worcester Natural History Society, Worcester, MA. 
The human remains were removed from land belonging to the Daniels 
School of Forestry in Rutland, Worcester 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 EcoTarium 
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 Nipmuc 
Nation, Hassanamisco Band, a non-federally recognized Indian group. 
Hereafter, all the Indian Tribes and the non-federally recognized 
Indian group listed in this section are referred to as ``The Consulted 
Tribes and Group.''

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1952, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from land belonging to the Daniels School of Forestry in 
the town of Rutland, Worcester County, MA. The human remains have been 
in the possession of the Worcester Natural History Society since at 
least the late 1990s. No known individual was identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Forensic analysis of the human remains reached the following 
conclusion: ``The remains consist of a nearly complete skull of a 
probably male, probable adult individual of ancestry most consistent 
with Native American. No meaningful estimate of stature was possible. 
No antemortem or perimortem trauma or antemortem pathological changes 
are visible. The PMI [postmortem interval, time of death] was 
determined by 14C analysis to be circa AD 290.'' In other words, these 
human remains belong to the Woodland period of Native habitation of the 
northeast.
    The Daniels site is located within the historic and prehistoric 
range of the Nipmuc Nation. Historic associations, including kinship 
connections, exist between the Nipmuc and the Wampanoag.
    Multiple lines of evidence, guided by consultation, including 
geographical, oral traditional, linguistic, and historical information, 
demonstrate the existence of a shared group identity between The 
Consulted Tribes and Group and the earlier group to which the human 
remains in this notice are connected.

Determinations Made by the Worcester Natural History Society

    Officials of the Worcester Natural History Society 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) (hereafter referred to as ``The 
Tribes'').

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 should submit

[[Page 71658]]

a written request with information in support of the request to Martin 
Christiansen, EcoTarium, 222 Harrington Way, Worcester, MA 01604, 
telephone (508) 929-2734, email [email protected], by January 
18, 2022. After that date, if no additional requestors have come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains to The Tribes may 
proceed. If joined to a request from one or more of The Tribes, the 
Nipmuc Nation, Hassanamisco Band, a non-federally recognized Indian 
group may also be included in the transfer of control.
    The Worcester Natural History Society is responsible for notifying 
The Consulted Tribes and Group that this notice has been published.

    Dated: December 10, 2021.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2021-27356 Filed 12-16-21; 8:45 am]
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