2024-07713. Notice of Inventory Completion: Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) 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.

DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or after May 13, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

Kathryn Murano Santos, Rochester Museum & Science Center, 657 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607, 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 RMSC, and additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

Based on the information available, human remains representing, at least, one individual have been reasonably identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The ancestor was removed from the California Ranch Site (Hne 22-4) in Ontario County, NY. They were excavated during an RMSC expedition on June 4, 1953. No known individual was identified.

Based on the information available, human remains representing, at least, one individual have been reasonably identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The ancestor was removed from the Morrow Point Site (Hne 033; Hne 003-4) in Ontario County, NY. They were excavated during an RMSC expedition in 1956. No known individual was identified.

Cultural Affiliation

Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical location or acquisition history of the human remains described in this notice.

Determinations

The RMSC has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
• There is a reasonable connection between the human remains described in this notice and the Seneca Nation of Indians; Seneca-Cayuga Nation; and the Tonawanda Band of Seneca.

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the human remains in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this notice under 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 May 13, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the RMSC 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. The RMSC 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 10.10.

Dated: April 2, 2024.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.