2023-23276. Notice of Inventory Completion: Field Museum, Chicago, IL

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Field Museum has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains were removed from Palm Beach County, FL.

DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or after November 22, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Helen Robbins, Repatriation 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. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice. Additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related records held by the Field Museum.

Description

Human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were removed from Palm Beach County, FL. James Arango Armour, the lighthouse keeper at Jupiter Station, removed the human remains from Lake Worth at an unknown time. On April 13, 1876, Armour wrote to A.W. Ward describing the human remains as “mound builder skulls.” Ward purchased the human remains from Armour on June 19, 1876, and on October 31, 1893, he sold them to the Field Museum as part of a larger collection. A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Field Museum staff in consultation with representatives of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. No associated funerary objects are present.

Cultural Affiliation

The human remains in this notice are connected to one or more identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures. There is a relationship of shared group identity between the identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures and one or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. The following types of information were used to reasonably trace the relationship: geographical, historical, and oral traditional.

Determinations

Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, the Field Museum has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
• There is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the human remains described in this notice and the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the human remains in this notice must be sent to the Responsible Official identified in 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 a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.

Repatriation of the human remains in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after November 22, 2023. 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 human remains are considered a single request and not competing requests. The Field Museum is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribe identified in this notice.

Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9, 10.10, and 10.14.

Dated: October 11, 2023.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.