[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 245 (Friday, December 22, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 88653-88654]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28178]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037123; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: State Historical 
Society of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the State Historical Society of Wisconsin 
intends to repatriate a certain cultural item that meets the definition 
of an object of cultural patrimony and that has a cultural affiliation 
with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. 
The cultural item was removed from Black River Falls, Jackson County, 
WI.

DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on 
or after January 22, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Curator of American Indian Collections Jacqueline Pozza 
Reisner, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 204 S Thornton Avenue, 
Madison, WI 53703, telephone (608) 263-3537, email 
[email protected] and [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 
State Historical Society of Wisconsin. 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 State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

Description

    The one cultural item has the catalog number 1950.6447 and is 
described in Society documentation as both a War Club and a Prophet 
Stick belonging to Chief Spoon Decorah and was removed from Black River 
Falls, Jackson County, WI. The State Historical Society of Wisconsin 
purchased this item on December 3, 1913 for $20.00 from Dr.

[[Page 88654]]

Paul Radin, who reported collecting the item in Black River Falls, 
Wisconsin and indicated that it was formerly the property of Ho-Chunk/
Winnebago Chief Spoon Decorah. The Decorah War Club/Prophet Stick was 
purchased from Dr. Paul Radin at the same time as the Decorah War 
Bundle, which was repatriated by the State Historical Society of 
Wisconsin to the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin in 2012. The Decorah name 
has been spelled various ways throughout history, including DeCarrie, 
Dekorah, Decorah, Decora, DeKaury.
    The Decorah War Club/Prophet Stick is a curved wooden item with one 
``leg'' longer than the other and a raised circular knob at the 
junction of these legs. The War Club/Prophet Stick has numerous 
carvings including a column of pictographs. There is a metal blade 
attached to the top of the Prophet Stick, which was added by former 
State Historical Society of Wisconsin Curator David Wooley.
    According to Christian Feest's research of prophet sticks in ``The 
Prophet Stick: Detective Stories from the Museum World'' article in 
Journal F[uuml]nf Kontinente, vol. 3, pp. 96-151, these prophet sticks 
were often physically part of bundles or cared for by war bundle 
caretakers and were clan-owned and inalienable to an individual. 
Cultural knowledge shared through consultation confirmed that these 
items were often part of bundles, which were clan-owned, and should be 
cared for by the current bundle keeper. The Decorah War Club/Prophet 
Stick is affiliated with the Ho-Chunk/Winnebago people, who are now the 
Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.
    Through consultation with the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and the 
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, it was confirmed that the Decorah War 
Club/Prophet Stick is an object of cultural patrimony inalienable from 
the Ho-Chunk and Winnebago peoples and needs to be reunited with the 
Decorah War Bundle. Those involved in consultation determined that the 
Decorah War Club/Prophet Stick should be returned to the Ho-Chunk 
Nation of Wisconsin.

Cultural Affiliation

    The cultural item in this notice is 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: anthropological information, 
folklore, geographical information, historical information, kinship, 
oral tradition, and expert opinion.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the State Historical Society of Wisconsin has determined 
that:
     The one cultural item described above has ongoing 
historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the Native 
American group or culture itself, rather than property owned by an 
individual.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the cultural items and the Ho-Chunk Nation 
of Wisconsin and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.

Requests for Repatriation

    Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural item 
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 item in this notice to a requestor may 
occur on or after January 22, 2024. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the State Historical Society of Wisconsin 
must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. 
Requests for joint repatriation of the cultural item are considered a 
single request and not competing requests. The State Historical Society 
of Wisconsin is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the 
Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations 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: December 13, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-28178 Filed 12-21-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P