[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Page 71674]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25571]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0034905; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Southern Ute 
Cultural Center and Museum, Ignacio, CO

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum 
intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition 
of sacred objects and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian 
Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on 
or after December 23, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Tallias Cantsee, Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum, 
503 Ouray Drive, Ignacio, CO 81137, telephone (970) 563-2996, email 
nsn.gov">tcantsee@southernute-nsn.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published as part of the 
National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA. 
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum. The National Park Service is 
not responsible for the determinations in this notice. Additional 
information on the determinations in this notice, including the results 
of consultation, can be found in the summary or related records held by 
the Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum.

Description

    The two cultural items were removed from Haudenosaunee territory 
through sale. Accession number SUM 251 was acquired through purchase by 
Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum (SUCCM) Director Helen Hoskins, 
on January 29th, 1997. SUM 679 was originally a loan from the estate of 
Father Declan Madden to SUCCM during the directorship of Lynn Brittner. 
On July 17th, 2012, it was donated to SUCCM. The two sacred items are 
two Hatuwi (Broken Nose) False Face Masks.

Cultural affiliation

    The cultural items in this notice are connected to one or more 
identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures. There is a 
relationship of shared group identity between the identifiable earlier 
groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures and one or more Indian Tribes or 
Native Hawaiian organizations. The following types of information were 
used to reasonably trace the relationship: historical information 
available on Haudenosaunee False Face Masks was used as a baseline 
marker, and tribal expert opinion was utilized through virtual 
consultations as well as a site visit.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum has 
determined that:
     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.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the cultural items and the Cayuga Nation; 
Oneida Indian Nation (previously listed as Oneida Nation of New York); 
Oneida Nation (previously listed as Oneida Tribe of Indians of 
Wisconsin); Onondaga Nation; Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (previously 
listed as St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York); Seneca Nation 
of Indians (previously listed as Seneca Nation of New York); and the 
Seneca-Cayuga Nation (previously listed as Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of 
Oklahoma).

Requests for Repatriation

    Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items 
in this notice must be sent to the Responsible Official identified in 
ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be submitted by any lineal 
descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization not 
identified in this notice who shows, by a preponderance of the 
evidence, that the requestor is a lineal descendant or a culturally 
affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
    Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to a requestor 
may occur on or after December 23, 2022. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum 
must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. 
Requests for joint repatriation of the cultural items are considered a 
single request and not competing requests. The Southern Ute Cultural 
Center and Museum is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to 
the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this 
notice.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.8, 10.10, 
and 10.14.

    Dated: November 16, 2022.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2022-25571 Filed 11-22-22; 8:45 am]
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