[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 96 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31823-31824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10557]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035862; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Michigan State University, East 
Lansing, MI

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Michigan State University 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 Emmet County, MI.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after June 20, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Judith Stoddart, Michigan State University, 287 Delta Court, 
East Lansing, MI 48824, telephone (517) 432-2524, 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 
Michigan State University. 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 Michigan State 
University.

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from Emmet County, MI. This individual arrived at Michigan State 
University as a police case in 1969 (Forensic Anthropology Lab (FAL) 
case number F.2.69), after a metal detectorist located the remains of a 
coffin burial along Five Mile Creek. The police removed human remains 
belonging to this individual, along with the associated funerary 
objects. After ancestry was determined to be Native American, the human 
remains and associated funerary objects were donated to Michigan State 
University (with a final donation date of 1971). In May of 1972, 
additional remains belonging to this individual were recovered by the 
Michigan State Police and donated to MSU. The burial is believed to 
have been an extended burial, with the head pointing towards the west. 
Given the nails and wood, this coffin burial most likely dates between 
1760 and 1820. After the analysis was complete, the human remains of 
this individual were stored with other forensic cases and the 
associated paperwork was filed (there were no computer database records 
of the analysis or final determination). This individual was mistaken 
for a cold case until 2022, when a reanalysis of several cold cases at 
the FAL prompted a re-investigation of this individual as well, at 
which time it was learned that the human remains had been previously 
identified as belonging to a Native American.
    The 572 associated funerary objects are 40 silver brooch fragments, 
three brooch pins, 16 conical silver bobs, 28 silver balls, five silver 
loop fragments, two complete bangles, two tiered-and-faceted silver 
bobs, one complete teardrop bangle tied with fabric, 29 pieces of scrap 
metal, eight nail fragments with associated wood, eight scraps of loose 
fabric, 21 decorated silver band fragments (representing four distinct 
armbands), one amber bottle glass fragment, one burned glass fragment, 
one animal bone, one animal claw, one small bit of hair, three 
unidentified organic materials, two unidentified iron fragments, 25 
pieces of scrap silver, six indigenous ceramic sherds, one piece of 
charcoal, one lot consisting of fly casings, one piece of fabric, 29 
seed beads, and 336 assorted glass beads (brown doublet, tan doublet, 
faceted, dark green, brown, blue, white, amber).

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: archeological, biological, geographical, and historical.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, Michigan State University has determined that:

[[Page 31824]]

     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
     The 572 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 Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa 
and Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, 
Michigan; Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan; and the 
Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma.

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 and, if joined to a request 
from one or more of the Indian Tribes, any one or more of the following 
non-federally recognized Indian groups: the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa 
and Chippewa Indians and the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians.
    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 June 20, 2023. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, Michigan State 
University 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. Michigan State University 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: May 10, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-10557 Filed 5-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P