[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 33 (Tuesday, February 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11680-11681]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03655]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-12188; 2200-1100-665]
Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Grand Rapids
Public Museum, Grand Rapids, MI
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Grand Rapids Public Museum, in consultation with the
appropriate Indian tribe, has determined that the cultural items meet
the definition of unassociated funerary objects and repatriation to the
Indian tribe stated below may occur if no additional claimants come
forward. Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be
culturally affiliated
[[Page 11681]]
with the cultural items may contact the Grand Rapids Public Museum.
DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes it has a
cultural affiliation with the cultural items should contact the Grand
Rapids Public Museum at the address below by March 21, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Marilyn Merdzinski, Director of Education & Interpretation,
Grand Rapids Public Museum, 272 Pearl St. NW., Grand Rapids, MI 49501,
telephone (616) 929-1801.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 Grand Rapids Public Museum 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 Native
American cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible
for the determinations in this notice.
History and Description of the Cultural Item(s)
At an unknown date, one unassociated funerary object was removed
from a mound at an unknown location in Kentucky and acquired by the
Grand Rapids Public Museum from a source with the initials ``K.S.I.''
(likely Kent Scientific Institute, the former name of the Grand Rapids
Public Museum). The object is a stone human effigy vessel that was
identified in the museum records as a ``[w]aterbottle of sundried
(probably Peruvian Indian make) clay for burial with dead S (W?), KY.''
Digital images of the object were reviewed by the Chickasaw Nation
Preservation and Repatriation Department and a professor at Murray
State University. It was determined that this vessel was identical to a
human effigy vessel from Wickcliffe Mounds, KY, and likely affiliated
with the Chickasaw Nation. In the Great Chickasaw Cession of 1818,
lands were ceded in western Kentucky to the U.S. Government and
traditional tribal hunting and trading routes covered a large portion
of Kentucky. Therefore, it is conceivable that this stone human effigy
vessel is culturally affiliated with the Chickasaw Nation.
In May and November of 1912, one lot of unassociated funerary
objects was removed from an unknown location near Tupelo in Lee County,
MS, by W. C. Wyman. At an unknown date, the lot of unassociated
funerary objects was sold to Dr. Ruth Herrick by an unknown person. In
1974, the lot of unassociated funerary objects was bequeathed to the
Grand Rapids Public Museum by Dr. Ruth Herrick. The lot of unassociated
funerary objects is identified in the Grand Rapids Public Museum's
records as ``large beads, glass, shell, and bone, early trade beads.''
Digital images of these objects were reviewed by the Chickasaw Nation
Preservation and Repatriation Department, who determined that these
objects are likely affiliated with the Chickasaw Nation.
At an unknown date, 1 lot of unassociated funerary objects was
removed from an unknown location near Tupelo in Lee County, MS, by an
unknown individual. At an unknown date, the lot of unassociated
funerary objects was acquired by Dr. Ruth Herrick. In 1974, the lot of
associated funerary objects was bequeathed to the Grand Rapids Public
Museum by Dr. Ruth Herrick. The lot of unassociated funerary objects is
identified in the Grand Rapids Public Museum's records as ``animal bone
and shell beads, identified by donor and G. Olson.'' Digital images of
these objects were reviewed by the Chickasaw Nation Preservation and
Repatriation Department, who determined that these objects are likely
affiliated with the Chickasaw Nation. Documented evidence of Chickasaw
occupation in northern Mississippi supports cultural affiliation of the
two lots of unassociated funerary objects from Lee County, MS, with the
Chickasaw Nation.
Determinations Made by the Grand Rapids Public Museum
Officials of the Grand Rapids Public Museum have determined that:
Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the 3 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 a Native
American individual.
Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the
unassociated funerary objects and the Chickasaw Nation.
Additional Requestors and Disposition
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to
be culturally affiliated with the unassociated funerary objects should
contact Marilyn Merdzinski, Director of Education & Interpretation,
Grand Rapids Public Museum, 272 Pearl St. NW., Grand Rapids, MI 49501,
telephone (616) 929-1801 March 21, 2013. Repatriation of the
unassociated funerary objects to the Chickasaw Nation may proceed after
that date if no additional claimants come forward.
The Grand Rapids Public Museum is responsible for notifying the
Chickasaw Nation that this notice has been published.
Dated: January 25, 2013.
Melanie O'Brien,
Acting Manager, National Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act Program.
[FR Doc. 2013-03655 Filed 2-15-13; 8:45 am]
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