[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2637-2639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00609]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037239; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Longyear Museum of 
Anthropology, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY

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 Longyear Museum of Anthropology (LMA) 
intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition 
of unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of 
cultural patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian 
Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The cultural 
items were removed from Broome, Jefferson, Onondaga, Oswego, and Tioga 
County, NY.

DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on 
or after February 15, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Kelsey Olney-Wall, Repatriation Manager, Longyear Museum of 
Anthropology, Colgate University, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346, 
telephone (315) 228-7677, 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 
LMA. 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 LMA.

Description

    Sometime between 1950 and 1965, 17 cultural items were removed from 
Broome, Onondaga, Oswego, and Jefferson Counties, NY, by avocational 
archeologist Walter ``Bud'' Bennett, during his excavations at Brown 
(noted as Keefe and Whitford), Center Village, Oberlander Site 1, 
Saunders, and Watson Farm. The eight objects of cultural patrimony from 
the Brown Site, are one smoothing stone, one hammerstone, two stone 
knives, three stone projectile points, and one stone flake. The one 
object of cultural patrimony from Center Village is a stone projectile 
point. The one object of cultural patrimony from the Oberlander Site 1 
is a stone projectile point. The one object of cultural patrimony from 
Saunders is a stone projectile point. The one sacred object from Watson 
Farm is a pot sherd, and the five objects of cultural patrimony are 
three stone projectile points, one worked stone, and one stone cobble. 
The collection was donated to the museum in 1965 by the estate of 
Walter ``Bud'' Bennett, a local amateur archeologist from Poolville, 
NY.
    Sometime between 1924 and 1957, 649 cultural items were removed 
from Jefferson, Onondaga, and Oswego Counties, N.Y. by Herbert Bigford 
Sr., during his excavations at Barnes (a.k.a. Oran), Comstock, Delphi 
Falls, Durfee, Harrington Farm, Indian Hill, Meather House, Nolee, 
Pierrepont Manor, Pompey Center, Pratt Falls, Selkirk, and Towles. The 
13 sacred objects from the Barnes site include one pipe stem, 11 bone 
beads (seven bird, three mammal, and one worked mammal bone), and one 
pottery sherd with an effigy face. The 56 objects of cultural patrimony 
include 27 bone awls (19 worked mammal bone, one baculum, one dog 
fibula, five bird bone, and one beaver ulna), three bone needles (two 
worked mammal bone, one bird bone), one worked antler, two punches of 
worked mammal bone, four dog canines, one worked mammal fishhook, five 
beaver teeth (one incisor, four other), two pieces of worked mammal 
bone, one chisel, one stone projectile point, and nine stone discs. The 
91 unassociated funerary objects from the Comstock site include 90 
wampum beads and one comb fragment. The 32 sacred objects include 26 
pot sherds (12 rim sherds, 8 pot sherds, and six sherds with effigy 
faces), one pipe, and five pipe fragments. The 49 objects of cultural 
patrimony include seven awls (six of worked mammal bone and one deer 
metatarsal), two bones needles of mammal bone, one grooved mammal bone, 
three miscellaneous mammal bone fragments, one mammal bone tube, 11 
antler fragments, two phalanges (one elk and one deer/sheep/goat), one 
fox tibia, 13 celts, one worked stone, one charred wooden square, one 
glass

[[Page 2638]]

cassock button, one metal hook, one metal sheet, one metal ring, and 
two metal nails. The one object of cultural patrimony from the Delphi 
Falls site is a faunal bone awl. The five sacred objects from the 
Durfee site include five pipes (four ceramic, one kaolin). The 54 
sacred objects from the Harrington Farm site include 54 pottery sherds. 
The one object of cultural patrimony from the Indian Hill site is a 
worked mammal bone awl. The 37 sacred objects from the Meather House 
site include 32 pottery sherds and five pipe fragments. The one object 
of cultural patrimony is a raccoon jaw (with tooth). The 101 sacred 
objects from the Nolee site include 81 pottery sherds and 20 pipe 
fragments. The three objects of cultural patrimony include one worked 
mammal bone awl, one bear canine, and one lead musket ball. The 17 
sacred objects from the Pierrepont Manor site are 14 pottery sherds and 
three pipe fragments. The two objects of cultural patrimony are two 
stone discs. The two sacred objects from the Pompey Center site are two 
bone beads (one elk/cow and one deer). The two objects of cultural 
patrimony are one worked antler punch and one mammal rib awl. The one 
sacred object from the Pratt Falls site is a bird bone bead. The five 
objects of cultural patrimony are two bone awls (one dog fibula and one 
bear fibula), two elk canines, and one ground slate. The three sacred 
objects from the Selkirk site are three pottery sherds. The one object 
of cultural patrimony is a stone projectile point. The 89 sacred 
objects from the Towles site are one polished bird bone bead, two glass 
beads, 57 pottery sherds, five pottery discs, 22 pipe fragments, and 
two pieces of miscellaneous copper. The 83 objects of cultural 
patrimony are two bear canines, one beaver incisor, one worked antler, 
one catfish dorsal spine awl (or needle), four deer phalanges, one deer 
phalanx, two mammal bone needles, three worked mammal bone awls, one 
depressed lump of pottery, one clamshell, one shell button, two stone 
knives, 29 stone projectile points, two stone drills, one quartz rock, 
13 stone scrapers, three stone celts, three worked stones, one rounded 
stone, three stone discs, two perforated stones, one net sinker, one 
stone gouge or celt, one metal bracelet, two musket balls, and one 
metal bell. In 1959, Colgate University purchased the Bigford 
collection from Winona F. Bigford.
    At an unknown date, one cultural item was removed from Onondaga 
County, NY, by an unknown individual from an unknown site in Pompey. 
The one object of cultural patrimony is a hammerstone. It is unknown 
how and when this object entered the museum collection.
    By 1962, 14 cultural items were removed from Broome County, NY, by 
John Hagen during his excavations at the Castle Creek Site. The 14 
objects of cultural patrimony are 14 worked stones. It is unknown how 
and when Mr. Hagen acquired these belongings. The museum acquired this 
collection as a gift from John Hagen, of Hudson Falls, NY, in 1962.
    Sometime between 1930 and 1943, 106 cultural items were removed 
from Broome County, Onondaga County, Oswego County, and Tioga County, 
NY, by Mortimer Cooley Howe during his excavations at D. Bocke's Farm 
and Harris Farm, Pratt Falls, and unknown sites in Amber, 
Baldwinsville, Binghamton, Brewerton, Elbridge, Marcellus, Phoenix, 
Skaneateles, Spafford, Stiles Station, and Tyler Hollow N.Y. The five 
objects of cultural patrimony from an unknown site in Amber are four 
stone projectile points and one stone gouge. The one object of cultural 
patrimony from an unknown site in Baldwinsville is a stone celt. The 
one object of cultural patrimony from an unknown site in Binghamton is 
a stone knife. The 12 objects of cultural patrimony from an unknown 
site in Brewerton are five stone projectile points, one stone knife, 
and six net sinkers. The one object of cultural patrimony from the D. 
Bockes Farm site is a stone projectile point. The three objects of 
cultural patrimony from an unknown site in Elbridge are one celt and 
two projectile points. The two objects of cultural patrimony from the 
Harris Farm site are two stone projectile points. The one object of 
cultural patrimony from an unknown site in Marcellus is a stone 
projectile point. The eight objects of cultural patrimony from an 
unknown site in Phoenix are three stone knives and five stone pestles. 
The four unassociated funerary objects from the Pratt Falls site are 
four mammal bone comb fragments. The 10 sacred objects are one pipe 
stem and nine metal fragments/brass kettle pieces. The 31 objects of 
cultural patrimony are eight worked mammal bone awls, four antler 
punches, three faunal bone punches, one faunal bone needle, three stone 
tools, one stone halfted thumbnail scraper, 10 stone scrapers, and one 
mirror fragment. The 18 objects of cultural patrimony from an unknown 
site in Skaneateles are 18 stone projectile points. The seven objects 
of cultural patrimony from an unknown site in Spafford are six stone 
projectile points and one stone knife. The one object of cultural 
patrimony from an unknown site in Stiles Station is a stone knife. The 
one object of cultural patrimony from an unknown site in Tyler Hollow 
is a stone projectile point. The items in the collection were gathered 
by Mortimer Cooley Howe while he was a student at Colgate and the 
University of Michigan. The Howe collection was donated to Colgate 
University, posthumously, by his father Burton Howe in 1947.

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: archeological information, 
geographical information, historical information, and expert opinion.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the LMA has determined that:
     The 95 cultural items described above 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 and 
are believed, by a preponderance of the evidence, to have been removed 
from a specific burial site of a Native American individual.
     The 365 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.
     The 327 cultural items described above have 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 Onondaga 
Nation.

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

[[Page 2639]]

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 February 15, 2024. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the LMA 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 LMA 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: January 9, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-00609 Filed 1-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P