2023-26607. Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Walton County, FL.

DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice may occur on or after January 4, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

Catherine Smith, University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History, 1659 Museum Road, Gainesville, FL 32611, 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 FLMNH. 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 FLMNH.

Description

Human remains, representing, at minimum, one individual (an adult male) were removed from Walton County, FL. In January of 1968, Dan Sharon removed these ancestral remains from Eden Park 1 (8WL61), an oyster midden. Sharon subsequently donated them to FLMNH. During collections reorganization in 2003, these ancestral remains and the funerary objects associated with them were found and assigned new accession and catalog numbers. The 11 associated funerary objects are three ceramic sherds, three charred plant remains, and five oyster shell fragments.

Cultural Affiliation

The human remains and associated funerary objects 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: anthropological, archeological, geographical, and historical.

Determinations

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

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
• The 11 objects described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed with or near individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony.
• There is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Seminole Tribe of Florida and The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 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 and associated funerary objects in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after January 4, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, FLMNH must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing requests. FLMNH is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes 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: November 28, 2023.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.