2024-27508. Notice of Intended Repatriation: Field Museum, Chicago, IL

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Department of the Interior

National Park Service

1. [NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039103; 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 unassociated funerary objects 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 December 26, 2024.

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. ( print page 92962)

Abstract of Information Available

A total of nine cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The nine unassociated funerary objects include pendants, a gorget, a bird call, a blade, a stone tool, a net weight, and a plumb bob. At some point prior to 1936, Leslie L. Cooke collected these items from Sacramento County, California. In 1936, Cooke donated the items to New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. The High School likely donated the items to the Museum in the late 1930s. The items were accessioned by the Museum in 1986 or 1987 as part of a larger collection. Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by geographic location, historical information, and Native American traditional knowledge. There is no known presence of any potentially hazardous substances.

Determinations

The Field Museum has determined that:

• The nine unassociated funerary objects described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near human remains, and are connected, either at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony of a Native American culture according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. The unassociated funerary objects have been identified by a preponderance of the evidence as related to human remains, specific individuals, or families, or removed from a specific burial site or burial area of an individual or individuals with cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
• There is a reasonable connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Wilton Rancheria, 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 December 26, 2024. 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: November 18, 2024.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.