2023-06480. Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Bryn Mawr College intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of objects of cultural patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The cultural items were removed from Wayne County, MI.

DATES:

Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on or after April 28, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Marianne Weldon, Bryn Mawr College, 101 N Merion Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, 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 Bryn Mawr College. 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 summary or related records held by Bryn Mawr College.

Description

Two cultural items were removed from Wayne County, MI. In 1882, William Sansom Vaux bequeathed a collection to the Academy of Natural Sciences (ANS), and ANS accessioned them on June 27, 1912. In 1961, ANS loaned approximately 3,000 items to Bryn Mawr College, including the two objects listed in this notice. In 1997, the ANS board voted to transfer control of the items to Bryn Mawr College, and in 1998, it executed the paperwork. The two objects of cultural patrimony are two effigy pipes (70.45.5; 70.45.6).

Cultural Affiliation

The cultural items 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 and expert opinion.

Determinations

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

• The two cultural items described above have ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the Native American group or culture itself, rather than property owned by an individual.
• There is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the cultural items and the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, Michigan.

Requests for Repatriation

Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items in this notice must be sent to the Responsible Official identified in 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 April 28, 2023. If competing requests for repatriation are received, Bryn Mawr College 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. Bryn Mawr College 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 10.8, 10.10, and 10.14.

Dated: March 22, 2023.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.