[Federal Register: April 20, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 77)]
[Notices]
[Page 20329-20330]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20ap01-97]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains
and Associated Funerary Objects in the Possession of the American
Museum of Natural History, New York, NY

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 in the possession of the American Museum of Natural
History, New York, NY.
    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 associated funerary objects. The National
Park Service is not responsible

[[Page 20330]]

for the determinations within this notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by American
Museum of Natural History professional staff in consultation with
representatives of the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma, the Seneca
Nation of New York, and the Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians of New
York.
    In 1907, human remains representing a minimum of three individuals
were collected by Alanson B. Skinner, as part of a museum expedition,
from Gandougarae, East Bloomfield, Ontario County, NY. No known
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are
present.
    These individuals have been identified as Native American based on
American Museum of Natural History documentation that refers to the
site and its inhabitants as ``Seneca.'' According to both museum
documentation and scholarly literature, the Gandougarae site was a
post-contact village occupied until 1671. Apparently this village was
also called St. Michel. The manner of interment is consistent with
post-contact Seneca practices of inhumation (in clan cemeteries).
    Based on the above-mentioned information, officials of the American
Museum of Natural History have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR
10.2(d)(1), the human remains listed above represent the physical
remains of a minimum of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
Also, officials of the American Museum of Natural History 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 the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma,
the Seneca Nation of New York, and the Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians
of New York.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe
of Oklahoma, the Seneca Nation of New York, and the Tonawanda Band of
Seneca Indians of New York. Representatives of any other Indian tribe
that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with these human
remains should contact Martha Graham, Director of Cultural Resources,
American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street,
New York, NY 10024-5192, telephone (212) 769-5846, before May 21, 2001.
Repatriation of the human remains to the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of
Oklahoma, the Seneca Nation of New York, and the Tonawanda Band of
Seneca Indians of New York may begin after that date if no additional
claimants come forward.

    Dated: March 30, 2001.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.
[FR Doc. 01-9762 Filed 4-19-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F