[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 129 (Friday, July 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43394-43395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14389]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036139; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion Amendment: New York State Museum, 
Albany, NY

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; amendment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the New York State Museum (NYSM) has amended 
a Notice of Inventory Completion published in the Federal Register on 
December 9, 2022. This notice amends the number of human remains and 
associated funerary objects removed from the Dennis site, in Menands, 
Albany County, NY.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after August 7, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Lisa Anderson, New York State Museum, 3049 Cultural 
Education

[[Page 43395]]

Center, Albany, NY 12230, telephone (518) 486-2020, 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 
New York State Museum. The National Park Service is not responsible for 
the determinations in this notice. Additional information on the 
amendments and determinations in this notice, including the results of 
consultation, can be found in the inventory or related records held by 
the New York State Museum.

Amendment

    This notice amends the determinations for the Dennis site, in 
Menands, Albany County, NY, that were published in the Federal Register 
on December 9, 2022 (87 FR 75659-75662). In the interim, additional 
human remains as well as associated funerary objects were identified. 
Repatriation of the items from the Dennis site listed in the original 
Notice of Inventory Completion has not occurred.
    Human remains belonging to, at minimum, eight individuals were 
removed from the Dennis site, in Menands, Albany County, NY; 
previously, only seven were identified. The human remains were removed 
during salvage excavations conducted by Mr. R. Arthur Johnson and 
others, after the site was disturbed by mining activity. The 123 
associated funerary objects are 120 fragments of animal bone and three 
unmodified stones; previously, none were identified.
    The Dennis site is located within traditional Mohican territory. 
Archeological evidence indicates it was occupied intermittently from 
the Late Archaic through Late Woodland periods. The human remains and 
associated funerary objects listed in this notice most likely date to 
the later occupation.

Determinations (as Amended)

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the New York State Museum has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of eight individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 123 objects described in this notice are reasonably 
believed to have been placed with or near the 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 Stockbridge Munsee Community, 
Wisconsin.

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 August 7, 2023. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, the New York State 
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 New York State 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, 
10.13, and 10.14.

    Dated: June 28, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-14389 Filed 7-6-23; 8:45 am]
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