[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 18 (Friday, January 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5258-5259]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01538]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037280; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Robert S. Peabody Institute of 
Archaeology, Andover, 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 Robert S. Peabody Institute of 
Archaeology has completed an inventory of human remains and associated 
funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural 
affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects 
and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The 
human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from 
Okaloosa County, FL.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after February 26, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Ryan J. Wheeler, Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology, 
180 Main Street, Andover, MA 01810, telephone (978) 749-4490, 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 
Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology. 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 Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology.

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from Okaloosa County, FL. Clarence B. Moore disturbed and removed 
burials from the site that he called Mound at Walton Camp, also known 
as Fort Walton Temple Mound (8OK6). Moore transferred the human 
remains, representing one adult of indeterminate age and sex, to the 
Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology (then called the Department 
of Archaeology, Phillips Academy) in 1901. The 13 associated funerary 
objects are four lots of stone celts; one stone disk; one lot of shell 
ornaments; one lot of bone perforators; three lots of chipped stone 
points; one hematite bar; one ceramic vessel; and one lot of medium 
sized shell beads and fragments.

Cultural Affiliation

    The human remains and associated funerary objects 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, oral tradition, and the expert opinion of 
Tribal representatives.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology has 
determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
     The 13 objects described in this notice 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.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary 
objects described in this notice and the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians; 
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; Seminole Tribe of Florida; and The 
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the 
Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation 
may be submitted by:
    1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations 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.
    Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after February 26, 2024. 
If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Robert S. 
Peabody Institute of Archaeology must determine the most appropriate 
requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects are considered a single 
request and not competing requests. The Robert S. Peabody Institute of 
Archaeology is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the 
Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this 
notice.
    This notice was submitted before the effective date of the revised 
regulations (88 FR 86452, December 13, 2023, effective January 12, 
2024). As the notice conforms to the mandatory format of the Federal 
Register and includes the required information, the National Park 
Service is publishing this notice as submitted.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.


[[Page 5259]]


    Dated: January 18, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-01538 Filed 1-25-24; 8:45 am]
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