[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 7, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 5738]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-1965]



[[Page 5738]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: Denver Museum of 
Nature & Science, Denver, CO

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves 
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3005, of the intent 
to repatriate cultural items in the possession of the Denver Museum of 
Nature & Science, Denver, CO that meet the definition of ``unassociated 
funerary objects'' under 25 U.S.C. 3001.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003 (d)(3). 
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the cultural 
items. The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations in this notice.
    The two cultural items are decorated animal bones, reportedly found 
with human remains. The human remains were repatriated to the 
Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida after publication of a Notice of 
Inventory Completion in the Federal Register on June 7, 2004 (FR Doc 
04-12661, page 31841) and a corrected Notice of Inventory Completion on 
December 5, 2005 (FR Doc 05-23873, pages 73261-73262).
    Sometime between 1910 and 1911, the human remains came into the 
possession of Jesse H. Bratley. After Mr. Bratley's death in 1948, the 
cultural items came into the possession of Mr. Bratley's daughter, 
Hazel Bratley. In 1961, Mary W.A. Crane and Francis V. Crane purchased 
the cultural items from Ms. Bratley. In 1983, the Cranes donated the 
cultural items to the museum. Based on provenience, museum records, 
research, and consultation with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, and 
Seminole Tribe of Florida, Dania, Big Cypress, Brighton, Hollywood & 
Tampa Reservations, the cultural items have been determined to be 
Seminole. Mr. Bratley resided in Homestead, FL, in 1910 and moved to 
Miami, FL, in 1911. During this time, Mr. Bratley photographed Seminole 
people. His records for the cultural items say that he acquired 
``sacral & pubic bones and some smaller ones,'' and recorded the 
culture of the cultural items as ``Seminole.''
    Historical and archeological evidence establish that Seminole and 
Miccosukee people have been residents in central and southern Florida 
for several hundred years. In consultations, representatives of the 
Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida; Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; 
and Seminole Tribe of Florida, Dania, Big Cypress, Brighton, Hollywood 
& Tampa Reservations confirmed their affiliation with earlier historic 
American Indians in Florida and indicated that the cultural items were 
associated with human remains of an individual that was probably one of 
their ancestors. This individual was repatriated to the Miccosukee 
Tribe of Indians of Florida. Descendants of the Seminole are members of 
the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida; Seminole Nation of 
Oklahoma; and Seminole Tribe of Florida, Dania, Big Cypress, Brighton, 
Hollywood & Tampa Reservations.
    Officials of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science have determined 
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(B), the two cultural items 
described above are reasonably believed to have been placed with or 
near individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of 
the death rite or ceremony and are believed, by a preponderance of the 
evidence, to have been removed from a specific burial site of an Native 
American individual. Officials of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science 
also have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), there is a 
relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced 
between the cultural items and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of 
Florida; Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; and Seminole Tribe of Florida, 
Dania, Big Cypress, Brighton, Hollywood & Tampa Reservations.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the unassociated funerary objects should 
contact Dr. Stephen Nash, NAGPRA Officer, Department of Anthropology, 
Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Boulevard, Denver, CO 
80205, telephone (303) 370-6056, before March 9, 2007. Repatriation of 
the unassociated funerary items to the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of 
Florida; Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; and Seminole Tribe of Florida, 
Dania, Big Cypress, Brighton, Hollywood & Tampa Reservations may 
proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is responsible for notifying 
the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida; Seminole Nation of 
Oklahoma; and Seminole Tribe of Florida, Dania, Big Cypress, Brighton, 
Hollywood & Tampa Reservations that this notice has been published.

    Dated: January 23, 2007.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E7-1965 Filed 2-6-07; 8:45 am]
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