[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 81 (Thursday, April 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25692-25694]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08886]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035719; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Rochester Museum & Science 
Center, Rochester, NY

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 Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) 
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 Cayuga County, NY.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after May 29, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Kathryn Murano Santos, Rochester Museum & Science Center, 
657 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607, telephone (585) 697-1929, 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 
Rochester Museum & Science Center. 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 Rochester Museum & Science Center.

[[Page 25693]]

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, 23 individuals were removed 
from the Backus site (Aub 002) in Cayuga County, NY. The human remains 
of twenty-two individuals and one associated funerary object were 
excavated by H.C. Follette during an RMSC expedition in 1929, and the 
human remains of one individual were gifted to the RMSC by an unknown 
individual and are part of the Greene Collection. No known individuals 
were identified. The one associated funerary object is one lot of soil.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, four individuals were 
removed from the Bluff Pointe site (Wpt 010) in Cayuga County, NY. The 
human remains of an individual were acquired by C. Armbruster in 1938, 
the human remains of an individual were collected by Harold Secor and 
donated to the RMSC in 1948, and the human remains of two individuals 
and two associated funerary objects were acquired through an RMSC 
expedition in 1939. No known individuals were identified. The two 
associated funerary objects are one flint scraper and one unworked 
flint chip.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, five individuals were 
removed from the David Meyers site in Cayuga County, NY. In 1935 and 
1974, these human remains were donated to the RMSC as part of the 
Greene Collection. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, 140 individuals were 
removed from the Frontenac Island Site (Aub 004 LR) in Cayuga County, 
NY. W.A. Ritchie removed the human remains of 136 individuals and 227 
associated funerary objects during an RMSC expedition in 1939, and the 
human remains of four individuals collected by David W. Chase were 
acquired by W. Cornwell and subsequently donated to the RMSC on 
November 27, 1962. No known individuals were identified. Of the 227 
funerary objects listed, 96 objects are present and accounted for in 
the RMSC collections and 131 are currently missing. The 96 present 
associated funerary objects are one imperforate, flat bone awl or 
needle; eight bone awls; one bone awl from the humerus of an eagle (?); 
one notched bone awl; one perforated bone awl; two scapula awls; one 
bone splinter awl; two lots of bone awls; one lot of bear claw cores; 
one bone; eight bone fragments; one lot of bones; one lot of cremated 
faunal remains and charcoal; one lot of deer metatarsal splints; one 
lot of deer teeth; one lot of deer tooth fragments and part of a turtle 
shell; three chert drills; one chert drill with a missing tip; one 
faunal bag; one faunal bone; one lot of wild turkey wing faunal bones; 
four bone fishhooks; one bone fishhook with a missing point; five 
antler flaking tools; two bone flaking tools; one bone flute with 
perforations; one bone hair ornament; two perforated bone hair 
ornaments; one perforated bone hair ornament with a missing tip; one 
harpoon fragment; three bone harpoons; one lot of bone harpoons; one 
lot of double-pointed bone implements; one ulna deer awl; one 
perforated needle; one imperforate antler pendant(?); one perforated 
bear or wolf canine; one perforated canine tooth; one perforated elk 
canine; one lot of perforated wolf canines; one side-notched projectile 
point; five stemmed chert projectile points; one lot of stemmed chert 
projectile points; one lot of archaic type projectile points; two 
turtle shell rattles; one scapula scraper; one lot of soil; one lot of 
unworked long bone splinters; one lot of bird bone splinters; one 
antler spoon handle fragment(?) of a bird effigy; one lot of teeth; one 
lot of perforated elk canine teeth; one lot of flint tool blanks; one 
dull pointed bone tool; one trimmed chert flake or point reject; one 
bone tube or whistle fragment; two bone tubes; one lot of unworked bone 
splinters; one bone whistle fragment; and two bone whistles. The 131 
missing associated funerary objects are one beveled(?) adze; one Plano 
convex adze; one antler tine; one antler awl; two scapula awl; one 
splinter bone awl; one lunate limestone banner stone; one lot of 
marginella shell beads; three beaver incisors; one split and ground 
beaver incisor; one schist celt; three sandstone choppers; one shale 
chopper; one antler effigy comb of two birds with touching beaks; one 
elk antler cup; one bone dagger; one bone dagger with red paint 
stripes; one restored conch shell dish; one dog burial; one dog 
mandible; five partial dog skeletons; one double pointed bone artifact; 
one chert flake knife; one antler flaking tool; one circular bone flute 
with oval perforations; one lot of bone gorges; one bone gouge; one 
perforated bone hair ornament(?); two harpoon bones; one paint stone 
hematite; one lot of carbonized hickory nut(?) fragments; one lot of 
decomposed lumps of iron pyrites; one lot of decomposed iron pyrites; 
two bone knives(?); one marine shell fragment; one unworked limestone 
(toy?) pebble; one lot of marine shell pendants; one lot of perforated 
bear canines; one perforated oyster shell; one pitted sandstone 
hammerstone; three limestone plummets; one corner-notched chert 
projectile point base; one ground slate projectile point; 17 lots of 
side-notched chert projectile points; one stemmed projectile point; 21 
lots of chert stemmed projectile points; two chert projectile point 
tips; one lot of side-notched, stemmed chert, projectile points; one 
lot of side-notched, triangular chert projectile points; one lot of 
stemmed projectile points; one retouched chert tabular piece; one 
fragmentary scapula; one fragmentary scapula scraper; five scapula 
scrapers; one damaged scapula scraper; one fragmentary scapula scraper; 
one serrated, split antler; one lot of chert spalls; one antler spoon 
with a restored perforated base; two whetstones; three sandstone 
whetstones; one intaglio decorated bone whistle; one lot of wolf jaw 
fragments; one lot of wolf jaws with bases ground away; one ground wolf 
tooth; one worked antler; six worked beaver incisors; one lot of worked 
beaver incisors; and one worked conch shell.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were 
removed from the Levanna Village (Aub 001) in Cayuga County, NY. The 
human remains of one individual were collected by George S. Brooks in 
1935, and they were purchased by the Rochester Museum & Science Center 
(the successor of the Rochester Museum of Art and Sciences) on 
September 24, 1961. The human remains of a second individual were 
collected by Clayton Mau, and they were donated to the RMSC by Edward 
Mau on October 24, 1966. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from the Meyers Station Site in Cayuga County, NY. In 1991, these human 
remains were acquired as part of the Greene collection. No known 
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, 11 individuals were removed 
from the Rene Menard Bridge Site (Aub 005) in Cayuga County, NY. The 
human remains of seven individuals were collected by C. Armbruster in 
1939. The human remains of one individual were collected by Harry 
Schoff, and they were purchased by the RMSC, through E.B. Meader & E.K. 
Meacham, in 1967. The human remains of two individuals were acquired by 
the RMSC as part of the Greene collection. The human remains of one 
individual and 15 associated funerary objects were collected in 1938, 
and they were purchased by the RMSC from H. Bigford

[[Page 25694]]

in 1947. No known individuals were identified. The 15 associated 
funerary objects are one lot of splinter awls; one lot of bone splinter 
awls; one lot of beads; one lot of copper beads and human tooth 
(incorporated as a bead); one lot of discoidal shell beads; one lot of 
chert drill fragments; one lot of sandstone pestle; one lot of chert 
projectile points; one lot of conical bone projectile points; one lot 
of red pigment; one lot of deer scapula scrapers; one lot of beaver 
incisors; one lot of dog teeth; one lot of turtle shell fragments; and 
one lot of worked beaver incisors.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from an unknown geographic location in Cayuga County, NY. These human 
remains were collected by Henry Schoff, and they were purchased by the 
RMSC from E.B. Meader & E.K. Meacham in 1967. No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.

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 type of information was used to reasonably trace the 
relationship: geographical.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the Rochester Museum & Science Center has determined 
that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 187 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 245 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 Cayuga Nation; Oneida Indian 
Nation; Oneida Nation; Onondaga Nation; Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in 
Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Tribe of the 
Mississippi in Iowa; Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe; Seneca Nation of 
Indians; Seneca-Cayuga Nation; Tonawanda Band of Seneca; Tuscarora 
Nation; and the Wyandotte Nation.

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 notice to a requestor may occur on or after May 29, 2023. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, the Rochester Museum 
& Science Center 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 Rochester Museum & Science Center is 
responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes 
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: April 19, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-08886 Filed 4-26-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P