[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 47 (Friday, March 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 16789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04981]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037555; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Longyear Museum of Anthropology, 
Colgate University, Hamilton, 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 Longyear Museum of Anthropology (LMA), 
Colgate University, has completed an inventory of human remains and has 
determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this 
notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after April 8, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Kelsey Olney-Wall, Repatriation Manager, Longyear Museum of 
Anthropology, Colgate University, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346, 
telephone (315) 228-7677, 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 
LMA. 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 LMA.

Description

    The preponderance of evidence suggests that human remains 
representing, at minimum, seven individuals were removed from Madison 
County, NY, sometime between 1960-1969. The human remains were removed 
from an unknown site by avocational archeologist Theodore Whitney. Mr. 
Whitney donated the human remains in the early 1970s to the Longyear 
Museum of Anthropology. No associated funerary belongings are present.
    It was previously reported in a Notice of Inventory Completion (68 
FR 67209, December 1, 2003) that Mr. Whitney donated the human remains 
in 1980, however, the LMA staff determined these human remains were a 
part of the donation from the early 1970s, with a reference in an 
Annual report from the Sociology and Anthropology Department at Colgate 
University. At minimum, one individual with similar catalog numbers was 
identified as being removed from the Thurston Site by Theodore Whitney 
and subsequently repatriated to the Oneida Indian Nation in 1995. The 
LMA established the seven individuals are connected to the human 
remains that were repatriated to Oneida Indian Nation in 1995.

Cultural affiliation

    The human remains 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, and expert opinion.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the LMA has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of seven individuals of Native American ancestry.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the human remains described in this notice 
and the Oneida Indian Nation.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains in this 
notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this 
notice under 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 in this notice to a requestor may 
occur on or after April 8, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation 
are received, the LMA must determine the most appropriate requestor 
prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human 
remains are considered a single request and not competing requests. The 
LMA 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 29, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-04981 Filed 3-7-24; 8:45 am]
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