[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 8 (Thursday, January 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2123-2124]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00477]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035107; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington 
State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

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 Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State 
Museum (Burke Museum) has completed an inventory of human remains and 
associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural 
affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects 
and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The 
human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Thomas 
Bay in Petersburg Borough, AK.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after February 13, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Peter Lape, Burke Museum, University of Washington, Box 
353010, Seattle, WA 98195, telephone (206) 685-3849x2, email 
[email protected].

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 
Burke 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 inventory or related records held by the Burke 
Museum.

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from a cave in Thomas Bay, AK, by Floyd Schmoe, who donated them to the 
Burke Museum (Burke Accession #2439). The human remains belong to an 
infant whose head is covered in red ochre. No known individual was 
identified. The six funerary objects are one wood box with metal 
handles, one piece of basketry matting with attached leather handles, 
one lot of cordage, one lot of fur, one animal hide, and one wool tunic 
with Chinese coins attached.
    The funerary objects and burial characteristics indicate a 
relatively recent, historic era burial. The style of the wool tunic is 
consistent with Tlingit traditional garments. It was often considered a 
sign of wealth or status to use trade materials, in particular Chinese 
coins, to embellish Tlingit clothing. During consultation, genetic 
analysis was requested to confirm that the human remains are of Native 
American ancestry. The results of the analysis showed that the 
individual's mitochondrial DNA belongs to sub-haplogroup A2, which 
indicates Native American ancestry through the maternal line. 
Haplogroup A is the most common form of mitochondrial DNA in Native 
Americans in southeast Alaska (Kemp & Schurr, 2010).
    Thomas Bay is located north of the town of Petersburg on the 
Alaskan mainland, and it lies within the aboriginal territory of the 
southern coast Tlingit Stikine (De Laguna 1990:204). According to local 
oral history, Thomas Bay was the location of two village sites that 
were destroyed and abandoned due to natural disaster and disease. 
Information provided during consultation indicates that the surviving 
residents of these villages relocated to Petersburg and are represented 
today by the Petersburg Indian Association.

Cultural Affiliation

    The human remains and associated funerary objects 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: anthropological, archeological, biological, geographical, 
historical, oral traditional, and other relevant information.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the Burke Museum has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
     The six 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.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary 
objects described in this notice and the Petersburg Indian Association.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the 
Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation 
may be submitted by:
    1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations identified in this notice.
    2. 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 human remains and associated funerary objects 
in this

[[Page 2124]]

notice to a requestor may occur on or after February 13, 2023. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, the Burke Museum must 
determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. 
Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing 
requests. The Burke Museum is responsible for sending a copy of this 
notice to the Indian Tribe identified in this notice.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9, 10.10, 
and 10.14.

    Dated: January 4, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-00477 Filed 1-11-23; 8:45 am]
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