[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 11 (Friday, January 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6002-6003]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01188]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039346; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Basom, NY

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 U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Northeast Region, Iroquois National 
Wildlife Refuge (NWR) has completed an inventory of human remains and 
associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural 
affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects 
and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after February 18, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Thomas Roster, Refuge Manager, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Northeast Region, Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, 1101 
Casey Road, Basom, NY 14013, telephone (585) 948-5445 Ext. 7030, 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 
USFWS, 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

    Based on the available information, human remains representing, at 
least, two individuals have been reasonably identified. The seven 
associated funerary objects include ground stone gorgets, a lithic 
flake, worked antler, a pipe stem, faunal remains, and a ceramic 
fragment. The individuals and associated funerary objects were donated 
to the USFWS by the Owens Family between 1992 and 2000. The individuals 
and associated funerary objects were likely collected as early as 1962 
at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, most likely near Feeder Road 
and Suttons Marsh. In addition, a friend of the Owens Family noted that 
a portion of the materials may have also been collected from the 
Tonawanda Wildlife Management Area, which included one site that was 
transferred to the Tonawanda Indian Reservation. No additional 
provenience information is known.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the

[[Page 6003]]

geographical location of the individuals and associated funerary 
objects described in this notice.

Determinations

    The USFWS has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The seven objects described in this notice are reasonably 
believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual 
human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite 
or ceremony.
     There is a connection between the human remains and 
associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Tonawanda 
Band of Seneca.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects 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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with 
cultural affiliation.
    Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after February 
18, 2025. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the 
USFWS must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to 
repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects are considered a single request and not 
competing requests. The USFWS 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: January 13, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-01188 Filed 1-16-25; 8:45 am]
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