FR Doc 2010-18997[Federal Register: August 3, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 148)]
[Notices]               
[Page 45654-45655]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03au10-94]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service
 
Notice of Intent to Repatriate a Cultural Item: Taylor Museum of 
the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, CO

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.
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    Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves 
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3005, of the intent 
to repatriate a cultural item in the possession of the Taylor Museum of 
the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, CO, that meets 
the definition of object of cultural patrimony under 25 U.S.C. 3001.
    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

[[Page 45655]]

agency that has control of the cultural items. The National Park 
Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
    In 1951, the Taylor Museum purchased a Northwest Coast totem pole 
(TM 3991) from Ralph C. Altman/Lumber Yard of Joshua Marks, Los 
Angeles, CA. The piece was officially accessioned into the museum's 
collection on May 7, 1951.
    The totem pole, dated circa 1870, is from the Haida village of Old 
Kasaan, Prince of Wales Island, southeastern Alaska. The totem pole 
originally stood in front of a house, and both were used by Chief Son-
i-hat, "Southeast Wind," of the Eagle phratry and one of the great 
chiefs of Old Kasaan. The house was named Adolescent Girl House. Chief 
Son-i-Hat also had a home not far from present-day Kasaan, which is 
currently the only remaining traditional Haida longhouse in Alaska.
    The pole was bought by a man from Los Angeles around 1908. The pole 
and house were taken to Los Angeles, and the dismantled house was 
rebuilt on a smaller scale. Chief Son-i-hat, who took along dancing 
paraphernalia, also accompanied the house and pole. Chief Son-i-hat 
stayed about two years, and according to his son, staged dances and 
gave speeches about the ways of his fellow Haida people. When the 
Taylor Museum of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center acquired the 
pole, it was laying in a lumber yard ready to be sawed up for wood 
pulp.
    In approximately early 2007, the museum began researching the pole 
and started consultations with tribal representatives from the 
Organized Village of Kasaan. Totem poles in the Haida culture represent 
clans, serve as grave markers, and also relate important events. 
According to representatives of the Organized Village of Kasaan, the 
totem pole is clan property. A totem pole is not property owned by an 
individual, and no single individual can alienate or convey this clan 
property. Furthermore, the totem pole was clan property at the time of 
its alienation, and ownership of the totem pole and crest designs 
depicted are owned by the clan, Yaadas of Gasa'aan (Old Kasaan). 
Therefore, the totem pole is an object of cultural patrimony under 
NAGPRA.
    Officials of the Taylor Museum of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts 
Center have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 300(3)(D), the one 
cultural item described above has ongoing historical, traditional, or 
cultural importance central to the Native American group or culture 
itself, rather than property owned by an individual. Officials of the 
Taylor Museum of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center also have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship 
of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the 
object of cultural patrimony and the Organized Village of Kasaan
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the object of cultural patrimony should 
contact Tariana Navas-Nieves, Curator of Hispanic and Native American 
Art, Taylor Museum of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 West 
Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO 80903, telephone (719) 477-4334, before 
September 2, 2010. Repatriation of the object of cultural patrimony to 
the Organized Village of Kasaan may proceed after that date if no 
additional claimants come forward.
    The Taylor Museum of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center is 
responsible for notifying the Organized Village of Kasaan that this 
notice has been published.

    Dated: July 26, 2010
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2010-18997 Filed 8-2-10; 8:45 am]
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