[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18585-18586]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06478]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035565; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Schiele Museum of Natural 
History, Gastonia, NC

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 Schiele Museum of Natural History (SMNH) 
has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that 
there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian 
Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human 
remains were removed from Gaston County, NC.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after April 28, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Carrie Duran, Schiele Museum of Natural History, 1500 E 
Garrison Blvd., Gastonia, NC 28054, telephone (704) 869-1009, 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 SMNH. 
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 SMNH.

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals were 
removed from Gaston County, NC. In 1986, Dr. Janet E. Levy and Dr. A. 
Lee Novick excavated human remains belonging to a female, 35-50 years 
old, from site 31GS30 (also known as the Lafar Site). In 1985, Robert 
A. Pace excavated human remains belonging to a male, 45-50 years old, 
from site 31GS55 (also known as the Penegar Site). In 1983, David G. 
Moore excavated human remains belonging to a female, 35-39 years old, 
from site 31GS55. The human remains of all three individuals were 
excavated by the Schiele Museum under the direction of Dr. J. Alan May 
and with approval of the North Carolina Commission on Indian Affairs. 
No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects 
are present.

Cultural Affiliation

    The human remains 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, and oral 
traditional.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, SMNH has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the human remains described in this notice 
and the Catawba Indian Nation.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains 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.

[[Page 18586]]

    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 in this notice to a requestor may 
occur on or after April 28, 2023. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, SMNH must determine the most appropriate 
requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the 
human remains are considered a single request and not competing 
requests. SMNH 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: March 22, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-06478 Filed 3-28-23; 8:45 am]
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