[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78383-78384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25212]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036928; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: The Children's 
Museum of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN

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 Children's Museum of Indianapolis 
intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition 
of sacred objects and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian 
Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The cultural 
items were removed from Nebraska.

DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on 
or after December 15, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Jennifer Noffze, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, 3000 
N Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46208, telephone (317) 334-3722, 
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 
Children's Museum of Indianapolis. 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 summary or related records held by 
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.

Description

    In 1967, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis acquired a sacred 
object through a trade with the Museum of the American Indian in New 
York City. The item came from the Winnebago Tribe in Nebraska, and it 
dates to circa 1880. The sacred object is a medicine pouch made of 
animal hide and decorated with multicolored beads in a diamond zigzag 
pattern on a white background.
    In 1967, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis purchased a sacred 
object pipestem from the Museum of the American Indian in New York 
City. The item came from the Winnebago Tribe in Nebraska, and it dates 
to the period 1860-1880. The sacred object is a carved wooden pipestem 
displaying a twisted design.

Cultural Affiliation

    The cultural items 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: geographical, historical, 
and expert opinion.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis has determined 
that:
     The two cultural items described above are specific 
ceremonial objects needed by traditional Native American religious 
leaders for the practice of traditional Native American religions by 
their present-day adherents.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the cultural items and the Winnebago Tribe 
of Nebraska.

Requests for Repatriation

    Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items 
in this notice must be sent to the Responsible Official identified in 
ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be submitted by 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 cultural items in this notice to a requestor 
may occur on or after December 15, 2023. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis must 
determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. 
Requests for joint repatriation of the cultural items are considered a 
single request and not competing requests. The Children's Museum of 
Indianapolis is responsible for sending a copy of this

[[Page 78384]]

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 10.8, 10.10, 
and 10.14.

    Dated: November 8, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-25212 Filed 11-14-23; 8:45 am]
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