[Federal Register: July 21, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 141)]
[Notices]
[Page 45398-45399]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21jy00-93]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains
and Associated Funerary Objects From Cass County, IN in the Possession
of the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, Indianapolis, IN

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 and associated
funerary objects from Cass County, IN in the possession of the Indiana
State Museum and Historic Sites, Indianapolis, IN.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 43 CFR 10.2 (c). The
determinations within this notice are the sole responsibility of the
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of these Native
American human remains and/or associated funerary objects. The National
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations within this
notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Indiana
State Museum and Historic Sites professional staff in consultation with
representatives of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma.
    Prior to 1932, human remains representing one individual were
recovered from a burial near the town of Walton, Cass County, IN by
Noah F. Surface, who donated these human remains to the Indiana State
Museum. No known individual was identified. The two associated funerary
objects include a pewter pan and a suede leather hair bow with silver
discs.
    Based on associated funerary objects and skeletal morphology, this

[[Page 45399]]

individual has been identified as Native American from the historic
period, most likely to the first half of the 19th century. Because the
hair bow is typical of the style worn by Miami women during the first
half of the 19th century and skeletal morphology, this individual has
been identified as an adolescent Miami woman. The burial location, five
miles south of the Wabash River, is in an area intensively occupied by
the Miami between A.D. 1795-1840.
    Based on the above-mentioned information, officials of the Indiana
State Museum and Historic Sites 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 the
Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites have also determined that,
pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(2), the two objects listed 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. Lastly, officials of the Indiana State Museum and Historic
Sites have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (e), there is a
relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced
between these Native American human remains and associated funerary
objects and the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Miami Tribe of
Oklahoma. Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes
itself to be culturally affiliated with these human remains and
associated funerary objects should contact Bill Wepler, Curator of
Anthropology, Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, 202 North
Alabama Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204, telephone (317) 232-8178,
before August 21, 2000. Repatriation of the human remains and
associated funerary objects to the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma may begin
after that date if no additional claimants come forward.

    Dated: June 15, 2000.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.
[FR Doc. 00-18464 Filed 7-20-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F

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