[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 11 (Thursday, January 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2876-2877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-00777]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-14611; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: American Museum of Natural 
History, New York, NY

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The American Museum of Natural History has completed an 
inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in 
consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations, and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation 
between the human remains and associated funerary objects and present-
day Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants 
or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization 
not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control 
of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a 
written request to the American Museum of Natural History. If no 
additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human 
remains and associated funerary objects to the lineal descendants, 
Indian tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice 
may proceed.

DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or 
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to the American Museum of Natural History at the 
address in this notice by February 18, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Nell Murphy, Director of Cultural Resources, American Museum 
of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 
10024-5192, telephone (212) 769-5837, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 
U.S.C. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains and 
associated funerary objects under the control of the American Museum of 
Natural History, New York, NY. The human remains and associated 
funerary objects were removed from the Sebonac site, Shinnecock Hills, 
Suffolk County, NY.
    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 human remains and associated funerary objects. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

[[Page 2877]]

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the American 
Museum of Natural History professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of Cayuga Nation; Delaware Tribe of Indians; 
Mashantucket Pequot Tribe (previously listed as the Mashantucket Pequot 
Tribe of Connecticut); Mohegan Indian Tribe of Connecticut; 
Narragansett Indian Tribe; Oneida Nation of New York; Oneida Tribe of 
Indians of Wisconsin; Onondaga Nation; Seneca Nation of Indians 
(previously listed as the Seneca Nation of New York); Seneca-Cayuga 
Tribe of Oklahoma; Shinnecock Indian Nation; Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe 
(previously listed as the St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New 
York); Stockbridge-Munsee Community, Wisconsin; Tuscarora Nation; and 
the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1902, human remains representing, at minimum, 15 individuals, 
including 1 adult female, 1 adult of unknown sex, and 13 subadults of 
unknown sex, were removed from the Sebonac site, Shinnecock Hills, 
Suffolk County, NY, during Raymond M. Harrington's excavations, 
sponsored by Frederick Ward Putnam and the American Museum of Natural 
History. No known individuals were identified. The 76 associated 
funerary objects are 46 ceramic sherds, 6 pieces of chipped stone, 22 
pieces of non-human bone, 1 ground stone vessel fragment, and 1 turtle 
shell cup.
    These remains have not been directly dated. Thermoluminescence 
dating of a cord-marked sherd associated with a wigwam floor at Sebonac 
yielded a date of A.D. 1405101, but it is not clear that 
this sherd was associated with the human remains included in this 
inventory. The site falls within the Late Woodland Sebonac phase, and 
we thus infer that the human remains are Late Woodland in age. The 
Sebonac culture persisted into protohistoric and possibly post-contact 
period. Sebonac was located in the contact period territory of the 
Shinnecock Indians and the archeology and oral tradition indicates 
considerable continuity for the Shinnecock in this area. During 
consultation, Shinnecock informants pointed to oral traditions that 
reflect continuity in Shinnecock house structures as recently as the 
mid-19th century as well as similarities in subsistence practices 
evidenced at the Sebonac site, such as cooking shellfish in 
subterranean baking pits, a practice that has endured among the 
present-day Shinnecock.

Determinations Made by the American Museum of Natural History

    Officials of the American Museum of Natural History have determined 
that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of 15 individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 76 objects described 
in this notice 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.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects and the 
Shinnecock Indian Nation.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to Nell Murphy, Director of Cultural Resources, 
American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, 
New York, NY 10024-5192, telephone (212) 769-5837, email 
[email protected]., by February 18, 2014. After that date, if no 
additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects to the Shinnecock Indian 
Nation may proceed.
    The American Museum of Natural History is responsible for notifying 
the Cayuga Nation; Delaware Tribe of Indians; Mashantucket Pequot Tribe 
(previously listed as the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut); 
Mohegan Indian Tribe of Connecticut; Narragansett Indian Tribe; Oneida 
Nation of New York; Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin; Onondaga 
Nation; Seneca Nation of Indians (previously listed as the Seneca 
Nation of New York); Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma; Shinnecock Indian 
Nation; Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (previously listed as the St. Regis 
Band of Mohawk Indians of New York); Stockbridge-Munsee Community, 
Wisconsin; Tuscarora Nation; and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head 
(Aquinnah) that this notice has been published.

    Dated: December 4, 2013.
Melanie O'Brien,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2014-00777 Filed 1-15-14; 8:45 am]
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