[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 140 (Thursday, July 21, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43712-43713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-18352]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[2253-665]


Notice of Inventory Completion: American Museum of Natural 
History, New York, NY

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The American Museum of Natural History has completed an 
inventory of human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian 
tribe, and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between 
the human remains and a present-day Indian tribe. Representatives of 
any Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with 
the human remains may contact the American Museum of Natural History. 
Repatriation of the human remains to the Indian tribe stated below may 
occur if no additional claimants come forward.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes it has a 
cultural affiliation with the human remains should contact the American 
Museum

[[Page 43713]]

of Natural History at the address below by August 22, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Nell Murphy, Director of Cultural Resources, American Museum 
of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 
10024-5192, telephone (212) 769-5837.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 
U.S.C. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains in the 
possession of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY. The 
human remains were collected from West Brewster, Cape Cod, Barnstable 
County, MA.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The 
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native 
American human remains. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the American 
Museum of Natural History professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, Massachusetts.

History and Description of the Remains

    Sometime prior to 1896, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were collected by R.W. Sears from what is identified in 
museum records as an ``Indian grave'' site in West Brewster, Cape Cod, 
Barnstable County, MA. The human remains were subsequently purchased by 
the American Museum of Natural History from the Giffort Brothers in 
1896. No known individual was identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    The individual has been identified as Native American based on 
cranial and dental morphology, as well as the recorded association of 
the remains with a Native American grave site. A bioarcheologist who 
examined the human remains estimated them to be of a recent age. 
Consultation information provided by the tribe, as well as 
archeological and historical sources, indicate that the geographic 
location of the ``Indian grave'' site is consistent with the 
traditional and post-contact territory of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, 
Massachusetts.

Determinations Made by the American Museum of Natural History

    Officials of the American Museum of Natural History have determined 
that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
above represent the physical remains of one individual of Native 
American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native 
American human remains and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, Massachusetts.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Nell 
Murphy, Director of Cultural Resources, American Museum of Natural 
History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, 
telephone (212) 769-5837, before August 22, 2011. Repatriation of the 
human remains to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, Massachusetts, may 
proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The American Museum of Natural History is responsible for notifying 
the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, Massachusetts, that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: July 14, 2011.
Sangita Chari,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2011-18352 Filed 7-20-11; 8:45 am]
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