[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 36 (Thursday, February 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 13364]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03578]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037411; 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, Harvard University (PMAE) 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 Dallas and Wilcox Counties, Alabama.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after March 25, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Patricia Capone, PMAE, 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

    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from the Dale Site (1Wx77) Wilcox County, Alabama, in 1899 by C.B. 
Moore and donated to the PMAE the same year. The one associated 
funerary object is one lot consisting of a ceramic vessel and 
fragments.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from the Durand (Durant's) Bend Site (1Ds1) Dallas County, Alabama, in 
1899 by C.B. Moore and donated to the PMAE the same year. The 14 
associated funerary objects are: seven beads; one lot consisting of 
ceramic fragments and a bead; four lots consisting of ceramic vessels 
and vessel fragments; one ceramic vessel fragment; and one shell 
gorget.

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: anthropological information, archeological information, 
geographical information, historical information, kinship, linguistics, 
oral tradition, other relevant 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 PMAE has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 15 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 as removed from the Dale Site (1Wx77; 
Wilcox County, Alabama), and the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Jena 
Band of Choctaw Indians; Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; The 
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
     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 as removed from the Durand (Durant's) 
Bend Cemetery (1Ds1; Dallas County, Alabama), and the Coushatta Tribe 
of Louisiana; Jena Band of Choctaw Indians; Mississippi Band of Choctaw 
Indians; and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

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 March 25, 2024. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, the PMAE 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 PMAE 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.

    Dated: February 9, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-03578 Filed 2-21-24; 8:45 am]
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