2024-03578. Notice of Inventory Completion: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University (PMAE) 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 Dallas and Wilcox Counties, Alabama.

DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice may occur on or after March 25, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

Patricia Capone, PMAE, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, 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 PMAE. 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 PMAE.

Description

Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed from the Dale Site (1Wx77) Wilcox County, Alabama, in 1899 by C.B. Moore and donated to the PMAE the same year. The one associated funerary object is one lot consisting of a ceramic vessel and fragments.

Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed from the Durand (Durant's) Bend Site (1Ds1) Dallas County, Alabama, in 1899 by C.B. Moore and donated to the PMAE the same year. The 14 associated funerary objects are: seven beads; one lot consisting of ceramic fragments and a bead; four lots consisting of ceramic vessels and vessel fragments; one ceramic vessel fragment; and one shell gorget.

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 information, archeological information, geographical information, historical information, kinship, linguistics, oral tradition, other relevant information, and expert opinion.

Determinations

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

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The 15 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 as removed from the Dale Site (1Wx77; Wilcox County, Alabama), and the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Jena Band of Choctaw Indians; Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
• 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 as removed from the Durand (Durant's) Bend Cemetery (1Ds1; Dallas County, Alabama), and the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Jena Band of Choctaw Indians; Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

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 March 25, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the PMAE 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. The PMAE is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.

This notice was submitted before the effective date of the revised regulations (88 FR 86452, December 13, 2023, effective January 12, 2024). As the notice conforms to the mandatory format of the Federal Register and includes the required information, the National Park Service is publishing this notice as submitted.

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

Dated: February 9, 2024.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.