[Federal Register: March 24, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 56)]
[Notices]               
[Page 14137-14138]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24mr98-108]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

 
Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains 
from Plymouth, MA in the Possession of Plimoth Plantation, Inc., 
Plymouth, MA

AGENCY: National Park Service

ACTION: Notice

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    Notice is hereby given in accordance with provisions of the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 43 CFR 10.9, 
of the completion of an inventory of human remains from Plymouth, MA in 
the possession of the Plimoth Plantation, Inc., Plymouth, MA.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Plimoth 
Plantation professional staff in consultation with representatives of 
the Wampanoag Confederation on behalf of the Gay Head Tribe of 
Wampanoag Indians, a Federally-recognized Indian tribe; and the Mashpee 
Wampanoag, the Assonet Wampanoag, two Indian groups.
    Between 1936 and 1945, human remains representing one individual 
were recovered from the Brown site on the Eel River in Plymouth, MA as 
part of an amateur excavation/surface collection by Harry Hornblower 
II. In 1987, Mr. Hornblower's estate donated his collections from the 
Brown site to Plimoth Plantation. No known individual was identified. 
No associated funerary objects are present.
    Historical documents from the 17th and early 18th centuries 
[including the 1606 Champlain Map of Port St. Louis (Plymouth)] 
indicate the Brown site is located within Wampanoag historic homelands 
and corresponds to Wampanoag settlements along the Eel River during 
this period. Cultural material recovered at this site, including 
ceramics, points, and a gun flint indicate continuous occupation from 
the late Woodland into the early contact period. Archeological and 
ethnographic sources further indicate continuities of material culture 
and language between 17th century Wampanoag of the Eel River area and 
tribe and communities represented by the Wampanoag Confederation.
    Based on the above mentioned information, officials of Plimoth 
Plantation, Inc. have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(1), 
the human remains listed above represent the physical remains of one 
individual of Native American ancestry. Officials of Plimoth 
Plantation, Inc. have also determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 
(e), there is a relationship of shared group identity which can be 
reasonably traced between these Native American human remains and the 
Wampanoag Confederation.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Wampanoag 
Confederation. Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes 
itself to be culturally affiliated with these human remains should 
contact Karin Goldstein, Curator of Original Collections, Plimoth 
Plantation, P.O. Box 1620, Plymouth, MA 02362; telephone: (508) 746-
1622, ext. 379, before April 23, 1998. Repatriation of the human 
remains to the Wampanoag Confederation may

[[Page 14138]]

begin after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
Dated: March 18, 1998.

    Veletta Canouts,
Acting Departmental Consulting Archeologist,
Deputy Manager, Archeology and Ethnography Program.
[FR Doc. 98-7580 Filed 3-23-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F