[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 245 (Friday, December 22, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 88643-88644]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28177]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037122; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

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 Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology (PMAE), Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, has completed an 
inventory of associated funerary objects and has determined that there 
is no cultural affiliation between the associated funerary objects and 
any Indian Tribe. The associated funerary objects were removed from 
Sumner and Williamson counties, TN.

DATES: Disposition of the associated funerary objects in this notice 
may occur on or after January 22, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Patricia Capone, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, 
telephone (617) 496-3702, 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 
PMAE. 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 PMAE.

Description

    The human remains associated with the associated funerary objects 
were previously published in the Federal Register on December 21, 2018 
(83 FR 65741-65743), September 15, 2022 (87 FR 56695-56696), and April 
26, 2023 (88 FR 25426-25427) and transfer of control has been 
completed. The present notice reflects the identification of additional 
associated funerary objects.
    In 1878, associated funerary objects were removed from the site of 
Gray's Farm (40Wm11) in Williamson County, TN, by Edwin Curtiss as part 
of a Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology expedition led by F.W. 
Putnam. The one associated funerary object is a shell spoon.
    In 1878, associated funerary objects were removed from the site of 
Noel Cemetery, also known as Oscar Noel's Farm (40Dv3), in Davidson 
County, TN, by Edwin Curtiss as part of a Peabody Museum of Archaeology 
and Ethnology expedition led by F.W. Putnam. The one associated 
funerary object is a stone bead.
    In 1882, associated funerary objects were removed from the 
Brentwood Library Site (40Wm210) also known as Dr. Jarman's Site, in 
Williamson County, TN, by F.W. Putnam as part of a Peabody Museum of 
Archaeology and Ethnology expedition. The one associated funerary 
object is a pearl bead.
    In 1879, associated funerary objects were removed from the 
Rutherford-Kizer site (40Su15) in Sumner, TN, by Edwin Curtiss as part 
of a Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology Expedition led by F.W. 
Putnam. The two associated funerary objects are one shell fragment and 
one shell bead.

Aboriginal Land

    The associated funerary objects in this notice were removed from 
known geographic locations. These locations are the aboriginal lands of 
one or more Indian Tribes. The following information was used to 
identify the aboriginal land: a final judgment of the Indian Claims 
Commission or the United States Court of Claims and treaties.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, the PMAE has 
determined that:
     The five objects described in this notice are reasonably 
believed to have been placed with or near individual human remains at 
the time of death or

[[Page 88644]]

later as part of the death rite or ceremony.
     No relationship of shared group identity can be reasonably 
traced between the human remains and associated funerary objects and 
any Indian Tribe.
     The human remains and associated funerary objects 
described in this notice were removed from the aboriginal land of the 
Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; and the United 
Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.

Requests for Disposition

    Written requests for disposition of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the 
Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES. Requests for disposition 
may be submitted by:
    1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes 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, or who shows that the requestor is an aboriginal land 
Indian Tribe.
    Disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after January 
22, 2024. If competing requests for disposition are received, the PMAE 
must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to disposition. 
Requests for joint disposition of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing 
requests. The PMAE 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 and 
10.11.

    Dated: December 13, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-28177 Filed 12-21-23; 8:45 am]
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