[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 16013]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04659]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037521; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intended Repatriation: Yager Museum of Art & Culture, 
Hartwick College, Oneonta, 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 Yager Museum of Art & Culture, Hartwick 
College (hereafter ``Yager Museum'') intends to repatriate a certain 
cultural item that meets the definition of an object of cultural 
patrimony and that has a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or 
Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the cultural item in this notice may occur on or 
after April 5, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Quentin Lewis, Yager Museum of Art & Culture, Hartwick 
College, 1 Hartwick Drive, Oneonta, NY 13820, telephone (607) 431-4481, 
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 
Yager Museum, and additional information on the determinations in this 
notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the 
summary or related records. The National Park Service is not 
responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    One cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The object 
is a bear claw necklace, consisting of a small leather thong or strap, 
which is threaded through punctured holes in each of two bear claws. 
This necklace was originally in the collection of Townsend Bishop 
(1867-1950) of Colliersville, NY. It is unclear how Mr. Bishop acquired 
this necklace. This collection was purchased by Rowan Spraker Sr. of 
Cooperstown, NY, before joining the Yager Museum's collection in 1963. 
Museum records indicate that this necklace was made by the Ute, and 
subsequent research and consultation has supported this affiliation, as 
well as the culturally patrimonial status of this object to the Ute 
people.

Determinations

    The Yager Museum has determined that:
     Objects of Cultural Patrimony: The one object described in 
this notice has ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance 
central to the Native American group, including any constituent sub-
group (such as a band, clan, lineage, ceremonial society, or other 
subdivision), according to the Native American traditional knowledge of 
an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
     There is a reasonable connection between the cultural item 
described in this notice and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the 
Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & 
Ouray Reservation, Utah; and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.

Requests for Repatriation

    Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural item 
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 item in this notice to a requestor may 
occur on or after April 5, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation 
are received, the Yager Museum must determine the most appropriate 
requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the 
cultural item are considered a single request and not competing 
requests. The Yager Museum is responsible for sending a copy of this 
notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations 
identified in this notice and to any other consulting parties.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.

    Dated: February 27, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-04659 Filed 3-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P