[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 68 (Monday, April 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 24498]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07363]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037677; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Birmingham Museum of Art, 
Birmingham, AL

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 Birmingham Museum of Art 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 May 8, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Graham C. Boettcher, Director & CEO, Birmingham Museum 
of Art, 2000 Rev. Abraham Woods, Jr. Blvd., Birmingham, AL 35203, 
telephone (205) 297-8048, 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 
Birmingham Museum of Art and additional information on the 
determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, 
can be found in the inventory or related records. The National Park 
Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    Based on the information available, human remains representing, at 
least, two individuals have been reasonably identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present. In 1969, Dr. Samuel Fischer, III of 
Birmingham, Alabama, donated to the Birmingham Museum of Art the 
skeletal remains of two individuals (partial skulls, accession numbers 
1969.33.1 and 1969.33.2) believed to be Native American, which were 
found in Detroit, Lamar County, Alabama. In October 2018, the remains 
of these individuals were examined and tested by Dr. Keith Jacobi, 
biological anthropologist in the Dept. of Anthropology, University of 
Alabama, and their ancestry was confirmed to be Native American. The 
town of Detroit, Lamar County, Alabama was established on lands 
historically belonging to the Choctaw Nation, which were ceded to the 
United States of America in the treaty of Fort St. Stephens in 1816.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical 
location or acquisition history of the human remains described in this 
notice.

Determinations

    The Birmingham Museum of Art has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
     There is a reasonable connection between the human remains 
described in this notice and the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians; 
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; and The Choctaw Nation of 
Oklahoma.

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 May 8, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation 
are received, the Birmingham Museum of Art 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 Birmingham Museum of Art is responsible for 
sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations identified in this notice.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.

    Dated: March 22, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-07363 Filed 4-5-24; 8:45 am]
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