[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 111 (Wednesday, June 11, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24654-24655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-10602]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0040332; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Bruce Museum, Inc., Greenwich, CT

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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[[Page 24655]]

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Bruce Museum has completed an inventory 
of an associated funerary object and has determined that there is a 
cultural affiliation between the associated funerary object and Indian 
Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the associated funerary object in this notice 
may occur on or after July 11, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the associated 
funerary object in this notice to Kirsten J. Reinhardt, Collections 
Registrar and NAGPRA Coordinator, Bruce Museum, Inc., 1 Museum Drive, 
Greenwich, CT 06830, 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 
Bruce Museum, 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

    One associated funerary object was recovered from an ``old'' Native 
American grave located on the bank of the Connecticut River near 
Middletown, in Middlesex County, CT in 1870. It was donated to the 
Bruce Museum in 1919 by Elias Cornelius Benedict. The known historical 
presence of the Mashantucket Pequot Indian Tribe and the Mohegan Tribe 
of Indians of Connecticut, in the area now known as the State of 
Connecticut, combined with the established tribal history and 
archaeological information, provides a reasonable basis upon which the 
Bruce Museum has made the determination that the Mashantucket Pequot 
Indian Tribe and the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut have 
established, with acceptable evidence, cultural affiliation with one 
AFO having been removed from near the Town of Middletown in Middlesex 
County, CT. No treatment with hazardous material has been performed.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical 
location or acquisition history of the associated funerary object 
described in this notice.

Determinations

    The Bruce Museum has determined that:
     The one object described in this notice is 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 associated funerary 
object described in this notice and the Mashantucket Pequot Indian 
Tribe and the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the associated funerary object 
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 associated funerary object described in this 
notice to a requestor may occur on or after July 11, 2025. If competing 
requests for repatriation are received, the Bruce Museum must determine 
the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for 
joint repatriation of the associated funerary object are considered a 
single request and not competing requests. The Bruce Museum 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 28, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-10602 Filed 6-10-25; 8:45 am]
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