[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 155 (Monday, August 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65657-65658]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17875]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038462; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Wesleyan University, Middletown, 
CT

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Wesleyan University has completed an 
inventory of human remains and has determined that there is no lineal 
descendant and no Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with 
cultural affiliation.

DATES: Upon request, repatriation of the human remains in this notice 
may occur on or after September 11, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Wendi Field Murray, Wesleyan University (Archaeology & 
Anthropology Collections), Exley Science Building, 265 Church Street, 
Middletown, CT 06459, telephone (860) 685-2085, 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 
Wesleyan University, and additional information on the determinations 
in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in 
its inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not 
responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    Human remains representing, at least, 16 individuals have been 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The remains of 
these 16 individuals were once part of an osteological teaching 
collection, which included human skeletal elements that had been 
prepared and used for anatomical instruction sometime between the 19th 
and 20th centuries. In August 2013, any human remains in the 
osteological teaching collection that showed evidence of having been 
disinterred (visible soil/staining, water damage, and weathering) 
rather than mechanically cleaned/prepared by a medical supply vendor or 
other entity were presumed to be Native American. Wesleyan has no 
records suggesting their geographic origin or acquisition history.
    The presence of potentially hazardous substances (i.e., pesticide 
residues) on these remains is unknown. In 2021, Wesleyan University 
discovered the presence of pesticide residue (arsenic) on one organic 
object from Samoa that was transferred from the Smithsonian in the 19th 
century, as well as several taxidermy specimens. While pesticides were 
not typically applied to human skeletal remains, they were managed 
together with organic objects in a large

[[Page 65658]]

ethnographic teaching collection, so cross-contamination is a 
possibility.
    There is one documented instance of pest fumigation relating to the 
collections that dates to 1972-1973. This was to treat a silverfish 
infestation in underground storage rooms that held the museum's objects 
after it closed. The proposal was for the application of 
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) to the floors, the placement of 
open containers of paradichlorobenzene (PDB) around the room, and the 
placement of a mildew-retarding insecticide inside the wraps of museum 
specimens. The specific contents of the room in which the chemicals 
were applied, and to what extent they were shielded from them, is 
unknown.

Consultation

    Invitations to consult were sent to the Mashantucket Pequot Indian 
Tribe; Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut; and the Narragansett 
Indian Tribe. Invitations to consult were also sent to the following 
non-federally recognized Indian groups: Brothertown Indian Nation; 
Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation; Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation; and 
the Schaghticoke Indian Nation. The Mashantucket Pequot Indian Tribe 
and the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut responded to the 
invitation and participated in consultation. Other Indian Tribes and/or 
groups either chose to defer, participated in preliminary phone calls, 
or did not participate.

Cultural Affiliation

    No information about the cultural affiliation of the human remains 
in this notice are available. The information, including the results of 
consultation, identified:
    1. No earlier group connected to the human remains.
    2. No Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization connected to the 
human remains.
    3. No relationship of shared group identity between the earlier 
group and the Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization that can be 
reasonably traced through time.

Determinations

    Wesleyan University has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 16 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     No known lineal descendant who can trace ancestry to the 
human remains in this notice has been identified.
     No Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with 
cultural affiliation to the human remains in this notice has been 
clearly or reasonably identified.

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 
any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization 
who shows, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a 
lineal descendant or an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization 
with cultural affiliation.
    Upon request, repatriation of the human remains described in this 
notice may occur on or after September 11, 2024. If competing requests 
for repatriation are received, Wesleyan 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. Wesleyan University is responsible for sending 
a copy of this notice to any consulting lineal descendant, Indian 
Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.

    Dated: August 1, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-17875 Filed 8-9-24; 8:45 am]
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