2025-01012. Notice of Intended Repatriation: Field Museum, Chicago, IL

Document Headings

Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following:

1. the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document
2. the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to
3. the agency docket number / agency internal file number
4. the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions

See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details.

Department of the Interior

National Park Service

1. [NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039321; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Field Museum intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of sacred objects or objects of cultural patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES:

Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on or after February 18, 2025.

ADDRESSES:

June Carpenter, NAGPRA Director, Field Museum, 1400 S Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, telephone [phone], email [e-mail].

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 Field Museum, and additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the summary or related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

A total of 54 cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The 19 sacred objects are two baskets, two lots of tobacco, three pipes, two meal plaques, one soup paddle, two game balls, two flutes, two ear sticks, one stick covered in quail scalps, and two bunches of human hair. The 35 objects of cultural patrimony are six baskets, one weft case, one basket warp, one leach mat, seven bone awls, one amole brush, 10 bird snares, one pigeon snare pole, one bone die, one lance and hoop game, three charm stones, one yarn belt, and one gorget. In 1901, the cultural items were removed from Fresno, Madera, and Mariposa Counties in California. The items were collected by Dr. John Hudson on behalf of the Field Museum during a two-year expedition among the Native populations of California and accessioned by the Museum in 1901.

Determinations

The Field Museum has determined that:

• The 19 sacred objects described in this notice are specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional Native American religion, according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. ( print page 4795)
• The 35 objects of cultural patrimony described in this notice have ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the Native American group, including any constituent sub-group (such as a band, clan, lineage, ceremonial society, or other subdivision), according to the Native American traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
• There is a reasonable connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians of California.

Requests for Repatriation

Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this notice under ADDRESSES . Requests for repatriation may be submitted by 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 a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.

Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after February 18, 2025. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Field Museum must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the cultural items are considered a single request and not competing requests. The Field Museum is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice and to any other consulting parties.

Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.

Dated: January 6, 2025.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.