[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 38 (Monday, February 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14101-14102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03802]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037458; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: 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) intends to repatriate certain 
cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary 
objects that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or 
Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The cultural items were 
removed from Cross County, AR.

DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on 
or after March 27, 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 summary or related records held by the PMAE.

Description

    The 531 cultural items were removed from Cross County, Arkansas 
between 1879 and 1880 as part of Peabody

[[Page 14102]]

Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology expeditions led by Edwin Curtiss. 
These cultural items consist of unassociated funerary objects from six 
sites. The 66 unassociated funerary objects at Fortune Mounds (state 
site number 3CS71; Parkin Phase) include 64 items that are present at 
the PMAE and two items that are not currently located. The 64 items 
present at the PMAE are two lots consisting of ceramic items, 50 lots 
consisting of ceramic vessel or vessel fragments, one lot consisting of 
charcoal, eight lots consisting of faunal items, and three lots 
consisting of stone items. The two lots not currently located are two 
lots consisting of faunal items.
    The 95 unassociated funerary objects at Halcomb's Mounds (state 
site number 3CS28; Parkin Phase) include 94 objects that are present at 
the PMAE and one object that is not currently located. The 94 objects 
present are two lots consisting of ceramic items, 79 lots consisting of 
ceramic vessel or vessel fragments, five lots consisting of faunal 
items, five lots consisting of stone items, one lot consisting of clay 
items, one lot consisting of floral items, one lot consisting of an 
unidentified organic item. The one object not present is one lot 
consisting of ceramic vessel or vessel fragments.
    The 156 unassociated funerary objects at Neeley's Ferry Mounds 
(state site number 3CS24; Parkin Phase) include 154 objects that are 
present at the PMAE and two objects that are not currently located. The 
154 objects present at the PMAE are: six lots consisting of ceramic 
items, 116 lots consisting of ceramic vessel or vessel fragments, 22 
lots consisting of faunal items, seven lots consisting of stone items, 
one lot consisting of floral items, and two lots consisting of charcoal 
items. The two objects not present are one lot consisting of ceramic 
vessel or vessel fragments, and one lot consisting of faunal remains.
    The 14 unassociated funerary objects at Robinson's Mound (Parkin 
Phase) are one lot consisting of ceramic items, 11 lots consisting of 
ceramic vessel or vessel fragments, one lot consisting of faunal items, 
and one lot consisting of clay items.
    The 161 unassociated funerary objects at Rose Mound (state site 
number 3CS27; Parkin Phase) are four lots consisting of ceramic items, 
129 lots consisting of ceramic vessel or vessel fragments, 13 lots 
consisting of faunal items, eight lots consisting of stone items, four 
lots consisting of clay items, one lot consisting of floral items, and 
two lots consisting of metal items.
    The 39 unassociated funerary objects at Stanley Mounds, also known 
as Parkin Site (state site number 3CS29; Parkin Phase) are one lot 
consisting of ceramic items, 33 lots consisting of ceramic vessel or 
vessel fragments, four lots consisting of faunal items, and one lot 
consisting of copper items.

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, 
archeological information, biological information, folklore, 
geographical information, historical information, kinship, linguistics, 
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 PMAE has determined that:
     The 531 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.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the cultural items and the Quapaw 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 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 March 27, 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 
cultural items 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. 3004, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.

    Dated: February 16, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-03802 Filed 2-23-24; 8:45 am]
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