99-8886. Notice of Intent to Repatriate a Cultural Item in the Possession of the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Anchorage, AK

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 68 (Friday, April 9, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 17410]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-8886]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Intent to Repatriate a Cultural Item in the Possession 
of the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Anchorage, AK

AGENCY: National Park Service

ACTION: Notice

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    Notice is hereby given under the Native American Graves Protection 
and Repatriation Act, 43 CFR 10.10 (a)(3), of the intent to repatriate 
a cultural item in the possession of the Anchorage Museum of History 
and Art which meets the definition of ``object of cultural patrimony'' 
under Section 2 of the Act.
    The cultural item is a Chilkat robe or blanket (Cat. No. 73.92.1) 
made in the traditional style of mountain goat wool and cedarbark.
    In 1973, Mr. Elton E. Engstrom signed a conditional deed of gift 
conveying this cultural item to the Anchorage Museum of History and 
Art. In 1999, Mr. Engstrom and the Anchorage Museum of History and Art 
signed a second unconditional deed of gift which declared the original 
deed of gift null and void; and which transferred ownership of this 
cultural item to the Anchorage Museum of History and Art as an 
unconditional gift. The Anchorage Museum of History and Art has no 
information regarding Mr. Engstrom's acquisition of this cultural item.
    Based on consultation with representatives of the Wolf House 
(Grooch Hit) of the Kaagwaantaan and the Central Council of Tlingit and 
Haida, evidence of cultural affiliation and the cultural patrimony of 
this object has been shown by: recounting oral traditions of the 
connection beween their clan and the wolf; maintaining that robes were 
communal property that could not be alienated without approval of the 
members of the house; and producing a photograph showing the robe being 
used as a symbol of the clan and house in a funerary situation.
    Officials of the Anchorage Museum of History and Art have 
determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(4), this cultural item has 
ongoing historical, traditional, and cultural importance central to the 
culture itself, and could not have been alienated, appropriated, or 
conveyed by any individual. Officials of the Anchorage Museum of 
History and Art have also determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (e), 
there is a relationship of shared group identity which can be 
reasonably traced between this item and the Kaagwaantaan Wolf House, 
represented by the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian 
Tribes.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Kaagwaantaan Wolf 
House and the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes. 
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with these objects should contact W.A. Van Horn, 
Curator of Collections, Anchorage Museum of History and Art, 121 W. 7th 
Ave., Anchorage, AK 99501; telephone: [phone] before May 10, 
1999. Repatriation of this object to the Central Council of the Tlingit 
and Haida Indian Tribes on behalf of the Kaagwaantaan Wolf House may 
begin after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
Dated: March 26, 1999.
Francis P. McManamon,
Departmental Consulting Archeologist,
Manager, Archeology and Ethnography Program.
[FR Doc. 99-8886 Filed 4-8-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F