2024-03581. Notice of Inventory Completion: Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Cleveland State University 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 Franklin County, MA.

DATES:

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

ADDRESSES:

Andrew E. Kersten, Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115–2214, 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 Cleveland State University. 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 Cleveland State University.

Description

Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed from Franklin County, MA. The human remains collection currently held at Cleveland State University is largely the work of the former member of faculty in the CSU Department of Anthropology, Dr. John Blank (d. 2019). The sites known to be associated with the concerns of NAGPRA all fall within those excavated by (or alongside) Dr. Blank, beginning in the 1960s. Many of Dr. Blank's excavations took place as field schools for students, but some also contained components of rescue archeology (as sites emerged due to erosion). The human remains in question here were part of the Knapp site in Franklin County, MA. The individual appears to be 50–60 years of age. 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: anthropological information, archeological information, folklore, geographical information, historical information, kinship, linguistics, oral tradition, and expert opinion.

Determinations

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

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual 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 Stockbridge Munsee Community, Wisconsin.

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 March 25, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, Cleveland State University 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. Cleveland State University 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.