2023-19965. Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington, DC

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has completed an inventory of an associated funerary object and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the associated funerary object and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The associated funerary object was removed from Clallam County, WA.

DATES:

Repatriation of the associated funerary object in this notice may occur on or after October 16, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Tamara Billie, U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1001 Indian School Road NW, Mailbox 44, Albuquerque, NM 87104, 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 BIA. 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 the BIA.

Description

Sometime prior to 1938, a coffin was removed from Neah Bay on the Makah Reservation, in Clallam County, WA, by Captain Fred W. Griffiths. In 1938, it was accessioned by the Karshner Museum and Center for Culture & Arts.

Cultural Affiliation

The associated funerary object in this notice is 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 type of information was used to reasonably trace the relationship: geographical.

Determinations

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

• The one object described in this notice is reasonably believed to have been made exclusively for burial purposes or to contain human remains.
• There is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the associated funerary object described in this notice and the Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah Indian Reservation.

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the associated funerary object 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 associated funerary object in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after October 16, 2023. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the BIA must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the associated funerary object are considered a single request and not competing requests. The BIA 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 10.9, 10.10, and 10.14.

Dated: September 8, 2023.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.