[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 21, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44705-44706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11092]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037945; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Mercyhurst University, Erie, PA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Mercyhurst 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 June 20, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Anne Marjenin, Mercyhurst University, 501 E 38th Street, 
Erie, PA 16546, telephone (814) 824-2012, 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 
Mercyhurst University, 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, one individual have been reasonably identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present. On an unknown date, the individual (VM-
091) identified as ``Comanche'' was removed from an unknown geographic 
location in Texas. On an unknown date, the individual was obtained by 
Raymond C. Vietzen (1907-1995). Vietzen, an avocational archaeologist, 
collector, and author,

[[Page 44706]]

established the Indian Ridge Museum in Elyria, Ohio, and the 
Archaeological Society of Ohio (formerly the Ohio Indian Relic 
Collectors Society). The Indian Ridge Museum, founded in the 1930s, 
served as Vietzen's laboratory and repository, and it remained in 
operation until the mid-1990s. After Vietzen's death, the facility fell 
into disrepair, and most of the items he had acquired and housed at the 
museum were sold. In 1998, the Ohio Historical Society (presently the 
Ohio History Connection) removed ancestral human remains and some of 
the remaining items from the facility and temporarily housed them at 
the Ohio Historical Society. In October of 2003, these remains were 
transferred from the Ohio Historical Society to Mercyhurst College 
(presently Mercyhurst University).
    While there is no record regarding potentially hazardous substances 
having been used to treat the human remains, unidentified adhesives are 
present. It is unknown when the adhesives were applied. The human 
remains may have been treated with an unidentified preservative 
coating, consolidant, or sealant. It is unknown when this unidentified 
substance may have been applied.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available 
about the human remains described in this notice.

Determinations

    Mercyhurst University has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
     There is a reasonable connection between the human remains 
described in this notice and the Comanche Nation, 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 June 20, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation 
are received, Mercyhurst University 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. Mercyhurst University 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: May 9, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-11092 Filed 5-20-24; 8:45 am]
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