[Federal Register: February 9, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 28)]
[Notices]               
[Page 9720]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09fe01-68]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

 
Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains 
and Associated Funerary Objects in the Possession of the Peabody Museum 
of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice is hereby given in accordance with provisions of the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 43 CFR 10.9, 
of the completion of an inventory of human remains and associated 
funerary objects in the possession of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology 
and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 43 CFR 10.2(c). The 
determinations within this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of these Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations within this 
notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Peabody 
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology professional staff in consultation 
with representatives of the Osage Tribe, Oklahoma.
    Between 1844 and 1866, human remains representing one individual 
were collected from an unknown location in Arkansas by any of the 
following: Horace Mann, the Medical Improvement Society, or Jeffries 
Wyman.
    These human remains were sold to the Boston Society of Natural 
History, Boston, MA, which donated the remains to the Peabody Museum in 
1916. No known individual was identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    Peabody Museum documentation describes the individual as an ``Osage 
chief.'' The attribution of such a specific cultural affiliation to the 
human remains indicates that the interment postdates sustained contact 
between indigenous groups and Europeans beginning in the 17th century 
in traditional Osage territory. Arkansas, where the human remains were 
collected, includes part of traditional Osage territory. Oral tradition 
and historic evidence support the cultural affiliation with the Osage 
Tribe, Oklahoma.
    Based on the above-mentioned information, officials of the Peabody 
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology have determined that, pursuant to 
43 CFR 10.2(d)(1), the human remains listed above represent the 
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry. 
Officials of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology also have 
determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2(e), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between these 
Native American human remains and the Osage Tribe, Oklahoma.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Osage Tribe, 
Oklahoma. Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes 
itself to be culturally affiliated with these human remains should 
contact Barbara Isaac, Repatriation Coordinator, Peabody Museum of 
Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, 
Cambridge, MA 02138, telephone (617) 495-2554, before March 12, 2001. 
Repatriation of the human remains to the Osage Tribe, Oklahoma may 
begin after that date if no additional claimants come forward.

    Dated: January 24, 2001.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.