[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2641-2642]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00613]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037246; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: University of 
Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA

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 University of Pennsylvania Museum of 
Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum) intends to repatriate 
certain cultural items that meet the definition of sacred objects and/
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 Sitka, AK.

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

ADDRESSES: Dr. Christopher Woods, Williams Director, University of 
Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 3260 South Street, 
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6324, telephone (215) 898-4050, 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 
Penn Museum. 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 Penn Museum.

Description

    The five cultural items are one Wolf Helmet (catalog number 
NA8507), one Shark Helmet (29-1-1), one Ganook Hat (NA6864), one Noble 
Killer Hat (NA11741), and one Eagle Hat (NA11742). The Wolf Helmet is a 
sacred object; the Shark Helmet is an object of cultural patrimony; and 
the Ganook Hat, Noble Killer Hat, and Eagle Hat are both sacred objects 
and objects of cultural patrimony. The five cultural items were 
purchased in Sitka, AK, by Louis Shotridge, a Tlingit curator employed 
by the Penn Museum to conduct research and make museum collections. In 
1918, Louis Shotridge purchased the Wolf Helmet (NA8507) as part of a 
collection of five objects referred to as the ``Eagle's Nest House 
Collection,'' for $40.00. In 1925, Louis Shotridge purchased the Ganook 
Hat (NA6864) for $450.00 from a Tlingit individual, Augustus Bean 
(Ke.t-xut'.tc), a housemaster of one of the three Wolf Houses of the 
Kaagwaantaan Clan of Sitka, AK. In 1926, Louis Shotridge purchased the 
Noble Killer (or Noble Killerwhale) Hat (NA11741) and the Eagle Hat 
(NA11742) from a Tlingit individual, Augustus Bean (Ke.t-xut'.tc), a 
housemaster for one of the three Wolf Houses of the Kaagwaantaan Clan 
of Sitka, AK. These two hats, together with a third hat, were acquired 
by Louis Shotridge for $800.00. In 1929, Louis Shotridge purchased the 
Shark Helmet (29-1-1) for $350.00 from a Tlingit individual of the 
Kaagwaantaan clan.

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: anthropological information, 
geographical information, historical information, kinship, oral 
tradition, other relevant information, or expert opinion.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the Penn Museum has determined that:
     One of the cultural items described above is a specific 
ceremonial object needed by traditional Native American religious 
leaders for the practice of traditional Native American religions by 
their present-day adherents.
     One of the cultural items 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.
     Three of the 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 and 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 Sitka Tribe of 
Alaska.

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 February 15, 2024. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the Penn Museum 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 Penn Museum 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.


[[Page 2642]]


    Dated: January 9, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-00613 Filed 1-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P