2023-10556. Notice of Inventory Completion: Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Michigan State University has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and any Indian Tribe. The human remains were removed from Kalamazoo County and unknown locations in MI.

DATES:

Disposition of the human remains in this notice may occur on or after June 20, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Judith Stoddart, Associate Provost, University Arts and Collections, Michigan State University, 287 Delta Court, East Lansing, MI 48824, 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 Michigan 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 Michigan State University.

Description

Human remains representing, at minimum, 16 individuals were removed from unknown locations in Michigan. These ancestors arrived at the Forensic Anthropology Laboratory (FAL) from police authorities and private citizens who had found human remains on their property. At some point, likely in the 1960s and 1970s, these ancestors were included in (former) teaching collections and disassociated from case and donation paperwork. As the FAL only accepts cases from within Michigan, these ancestors were most likely removed from Michigan. No associated funerary objects are present.

Human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals (catalog numbers 2007.77.4; 2007.77.5) were removed from Kalamazoo County, MI. On an unknown date, these individuals were acquired by Kalamazoo County resident, Donald Boudeman, who collected Native American material culture in the first half of the twentieth century. In 1961, Boudeman's wife, Donna Boudeman, donated the human remains together with Mr. Boudeman's collection to the Michigan State University Museum. Database records indicate these individuals were recovered from a mound near Vicksburg. No associated funerary objects are present.

Aboriginal Land

The human remains in this notice were removed from a known geographic location (Michigan). This location is the aboriginal land of one or more Indian Tribes. The following information was used to identify the aboriginal land: treaties and a final judgment of the Indian Claims Commission or the United States Court of Claims.

Determinations

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

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of 18 individuals of Native American ancestry.
• No relationship of shared group identity can be reasonably traced between the human remains and any Indian Tribe.

• The human remains described in this notice were removed from the aboriginal land of the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation, Wisconsin; Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan; Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana; Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of Indians; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Forest County Potawatomi Community, Wisconsin; Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Hannahville Indian Community, Michigan; Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigan; Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas; Kickapoo Tribe of Indians of the Kickapoo Reservation in Kansas; Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma; Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation of Wisconsin; Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Michigan; Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Michigan; Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana; Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan; Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan; Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin; Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Six component reservations: Bois Forte Band (Nett Lake); Fond du Lac Band; Grand Portage Band; Leech Lake Band; Milles Lacs Band; White Earth Band); Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, Michigan; Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma; Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana; Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation; Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, Minnesota; Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa; Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan; Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Seneca Nation of Indians; Seneca-Cayuga Nation; Shawnee Tribe; Sokaogon Chippewa Community, Wisconsin; St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Stockbridge Munsee Community, Wisconsin; Tonawanda Band of Seneca; Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota; and the Wyandotte Nation.

Requests for Disposition

Written requests for disposition of the human remains in this notice must be sent to the Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES . Requests for disposition may be submitted by:

1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes 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, or who shows that the requestor is an aboriginal land Indian Tribe.

Disposition of the human remains described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after June 20, 2023. If competing requests for disposition are received, Michigan State University must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to disposition. Requests for joint disposition of the human remains are considered a single request and not competing requests. Michigan State University 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 10.9 and 10.11.

Dated: May 10, 2023.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.