[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 21, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67658-67659]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18676]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038523; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intended Repatriation: University of North Dakota, 
Grand Forks, ND, and University of North Dakota, Alumni Association & 
Foundation, Grand Forks, ND

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 University of North Dakota and the UND 
Alumni Association & Foundation intend to repatriate a certain cultural 
item that meets the definition of an sacred objects 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 September 20, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Crystal Alberts, University of North Dakota, Twamley 
Hall Room 300, 264 Centennial Drive, Grand Forks, ND 58202, telephone 
(701) 777-2393, 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 
University of North Dakota and the UND Alumni Association & Foundation, 
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 sacred object is a pipe. The pipe has not been treated with 
potentially hazardous substances to the best of the institutions' 
knowledge.

[[Page 67659]]

    This item is part of the Victor A. Corbett Collection, gifted to 
the UND Alumni Association & Foundation (UNDAAF) circa February 1988. 
According to New York City-based appraisers consulted by UNDAAF in the 
1980s, most of these items are estimated to date from the 1890s through 
the 1950s with most acquired by Corbett in the 1940s and 50s and appear 
to be from tribes in what is now North Dakota and surrounding states.
    Victor A. Corbett, a dentist in Minot, ND, from 1931-1984, was 
reported to accept artifacts from Native Americans in the surrounding 
area, namely the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the residents of the 
nearby Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold Reservation, sometimes 
in lieu of payment for dental services. Documentation indicates he also 
collected objects related to Native American culture through various 
means, including purchasing and commissioning custom-made pieces. 
Additionally, research suggests that he would accept objects from 
patients as collateral for an outstanding bill for dental services 
rendered. Collection records do not provide any additional information 
regarding the objects' provenience or provenance.
    Included in this collection is a catlinite pipe bowl with an 
engraving of a Native American man wearing a headdress on the side. 
After a visit from tribal elders, the pipe was identified as belonging 
to a relative of Standing Buffalo.

Determinations

    The University of North Dakota and the UND Alumni Association & 
Foundation has determined that:
     The one sacred object described in this notice is a 
specific ceremonial object needed by a traditional Native American 
religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional 
Native American religion, according to the Native American traditional 
knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian 
organization.
     There is a reasonable connection between the cultural item 
described in this notice and the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake 
Traverse Reservation, South Dakota.

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 September 20, 2024. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the University of North Dakota and the UND 
Alumni Association & Foundation 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 University of North Dakota and the UND Alumni Association 
& Foundation are 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: August 7, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-18676 Filed 8-20-24; 8:45 am]
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