[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 159 (Thursday, August 18, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50881-50882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-17768]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0034370; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Bryn Mawr College 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 Bryn 
Mawr College. 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 Bryn Mawr College at the address in this 
notice by September 19, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marianne Weldon, Bryn Mawr College, 
101 N Merion Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, telephone (610) 526-5022, 
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 Bryn Mawr College, 
Bryn Mawr, PA. The human remains and associated funerary objects were 
removed from a mound in the City of Natchez, Adams County, MS.
    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

[[Page 50882]]

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 Bryn Mawr 
College professional staff in consultation with representatives of the 
Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The 
Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town; Caddo Nation of Oklahoma; Catawba Indian 
Nation (previously listed as Catawba Tribe of South Carolina); Cherokee 
Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of 
Oklahoma; Jena Band of Choctaw Indians; Kialegee Tribal Town; Miami 
Tribe of Oklahoma; Miccosukee Tribe of Indians; Mississippi Band of 
Choctaw Indians; Poarch Band of Creek Indians (previously listed as 
Poarch Band of Creeks); Quapaw Nation (previously listed as The Quapaw 
Tribe of Indians); Seminole Tribe of Florida (previously listed as 
Seminole Tribe of Florida (Dania, Big Cypress, Brighton, Hollywood, & 
Tampa Reservations)); Shawnee Tribe; The Chickasaw Nation; The Choctaw 
Nation of Oklahoma; The Osage Nation (previously listed as Osage 
Tribe); The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; Thlopthlocco Tribal Town; 
Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee 
Indians in Oklahoma were invited to consult but did not participate. 
Hereafter, all the Indian Tribes listed in this section are referred to 
as ``The Consulted and Invited Tribes.''

History and Description of the Remains

    Sometime in the nineteenth century, human remains representing, at 
minimum, three individuals were removed from a burial at a mound site 
in the City of Natchez, Adams County, MS. Upon his death in 1882, 
William Sansom Vaux bequeathed a collection to the Academy of Natural 
Sciences in Philadelphia (ANS) that included the human remains and 
associated funerary objects listed in this notice. The ANS accessioned 
them on June 27, 1912. In 1961, the ANS loaned approximately 3,000 
items, including these human remains and associated funerary objects, 
to Bryn Mawr College. In 1997, the ANS transferred control of the human 
remains and associated funerary objects to Bryn Mawr College. No known 
individuals were identified. The 10 associated funerary objects are one 
lot of iron rings or beads, three copper bracelets, three copper beads, 
one bone bead, one shell bead, and one shell ring.
    Mound sites in the region are associated with the Plaquemine 
Mississippian period (circa 1200-1730 CE) and the Natchez people. Based 
on the presence of iron cultural items, the burial occurred after 
contact with European material culture.

Determinations Made by Bryn Mawr College

    Officials of Bryn Mawr College have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of, at minimum, three 
individuals of Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 10 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 
Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana; Jena Band of Choctaw Indians; 
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; The Chickasaw Nation; The Choctaw 
Nation of Oklahoma; and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation (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 and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to Marianne Weldon, Bryn Mawr College, 101 N 
Merion Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, telephone (610) 526-5022, email 
[email protected], by September 19, 2022. After that date, if no 
additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects to The Tribes may 
proceed.
    Bryn Mawr College is responsible for notifying The Consulted and 
Invited Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: August 10, 2022.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2022-17768 Filed 8-17-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P