[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58754-58755]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15893]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038295; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intended Repatriation: Ralph T. Coe Center for the 
Arts, Santa Fe, NM

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 Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts 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 August 19, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Rachel Wixom, Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts, 1590B 
Pacheco, Santa Fe, NM 87505, telephone (505) 983-6372, 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 
Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts 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

    A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. 
The one object of cultural patrimony is a Mississippian Head Pot 
(catalog number NA1245).
    The Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts acquired NA1245 in 2011 as a 
gift from Ralph T. Coe. Ralph T. Coe acquired NA1245 on 01/30/2006 from 
Elenore Tulman Hancock Incorporated, a New York-based art dealer. When 
purchased, the accompanying provenance stated that it was from a family 
living in Jackson, Missouri, that had inherited it from their 
grandfather. The Coe Center for the Arts has no further provenance 
information.
    Head pots are highly distinctive vessels. Upon assessment by the 
Quapaw Nation, it was determined that this vessel originates from the 
bootheel of Missouri and northeastern Arkansas. This vessel has a very 
high likelihood of originating from Pemiscot County, MO, Mississippi 
County, AR or one of the surrounding counties.
    The Quapaw Nation has provided eight of the accepted categories to 
support ancestral connection to the area and sites this vessel is 
associated with. The provided lines of evidence are Historical, 
Geographical, Linguistic, Anthropological, Archeological, Folkloric, 
Oral Traditional, and Expert Opinion. These lines of evidence 
demonstrate a Quapaw connection to the archeological sites located 
along the St. Francis River and the central Mississippi River Valley. 
This habitation likely began during the Mississippian archeological 
phase and declined pre-contact, but nevertheless continued at a reduced 
level into the French colonial period. Because of comingling with 
previous groups, the Quapaw are connected to and affiliated with pre-
contact, Mississippian, and also with earlier archeological phases of 
this region.
    While this area was not in the treaty cession of the Quapaw, it was 
nevertheless a significant place in Quapaw history. Evidence from a 
variety of sources exists demonstrating Quapaw connection to this 
region. Based on the evidence provided, the Quapaw Nation is the 
primary federally recognized tribal nation connected to the sites 
associated with this style of vessel.
    There are no known hazardous substances used to treat NA1245.

Determinations

    The Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts has determined that:
     The one object of cultural patrimony 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.

[[Page 58755]]

     There is a reasonable connection between the cultural item 
described in this notice and the Quapaw Nation.

Requests for Repatriation

    Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural item 
in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified 
in this notice under 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 August 19, 2024. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts 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 Ralph T. Coe Center for 
the Arts 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: July 10, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-15893 Filed 7-18-24; 8:45 am]
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