[Federal Register: July 9, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 131)]
[Notices]
[Page 45536-45539]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09jy02-99]

[[Page 45536]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains
and Associated Funerary Objects in the Control of Franklin Pierce
College, Rindge, NH; Manchester Historical Association, Manchester, NH;
New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, Concord, NH; and
University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH; and in the Possession of the
New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, Concord, NH

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

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 in the control of Franklin Pierce College, Rindge, NH;
Manchester Historical Association, Manchester, NH; New Hampshire
Division of Historical Resources, Concord, NH; and University of New
Hampshire, Durham, NH (cited below as the four museums); and in the
possession of the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources,
Concord, NH.
    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 for the determinations within this
notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by professional
staff and consultants of the New Hampshire Division of Historical
Resources, acting on behalf of the four museums, in consultation with
representatives of the Penobscot Tribe of Maine, Wabanaki Tribes of
Maine Intertribal Repatriation Committee, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay
Head (Aquinnah) of Massachusetts, Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi (a
nonfederally recognized Indian group), Abenaki Nation of New Hampshire
(a nonfederally recognized group), Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-
Abenaki People (a nonfederally recognized Indian group), First Nation
of New Hampshire (a nonfederally recognized Indian group affiliated
with the National Federation of the Republic of the Sovereign Abenaki
Nation), Abenaki Family Alliance (a nonfederally recognized Indian
group), Dawnland Alliance (a nonfederally recognized Indian group),
Southern New England Abenaki Council (a nonfederally recognized Indian
group), and four intertribal Indian groups, including the New Hampshire
Intertribal Native American Council, the Laconia Indian Historical
Association, the Boldwing Clan, and the Greater Lowell Indian Cultural
Association.
    New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, acting on behalf of
the four museums, has determined that the human remains reported in
this notice cannot be affiliated with an Indian tribe as defined in
NAGPRA, 43 CFR 10.2 (b)(2), and are considered culturally
unidentifiable. Until final promulgation of Section 10.11 of NAGPRA
regulations, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation
Review Committee is responsible for recommending to the Secretary of
the Interior specific actions for the disposition of culturally
unidentifiable human remains, according to NAGPRA, 43 CFR 10.10 (g). In
March 1999, the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, acting
on behalf of the four museums, presented a disposition proposal to the
NAGPRA Review Committee to repatriate 17 culturally unidentifiable
human remains from 11 locations in New Hampshire to the Abenaki Nation
of Missisquoi (a nonfederally recognized Indian group), representing a
coalition of Western Abenaki groups, including the Abenaki Nation of
New Hampshire (a nonfederally recognized Indian group), Cowasuck Band
of the Pennacook-Abenaki People (a nonfederally recognized Indian
group), and the First Nation of New Hampshire (a nonfederally
recognized Indian group). The proposal was considered by the review
committee at its May 1999 meeting.
    The review committee recommended disposition of the human remains
to the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, representing a coalition of
Western Abenaki groups, contingent upon the museum's meeting four
requirements. On January 11, 2000, the Departmental Consulting
Archeologist, writing on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior, to
the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources asked that the
museum distribute the inventory of culturally unidentifiable human
remains to the Wabanaki Confederacy (representing the Aroostook Band of
Micmac Indians of Maine, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians of Maine,
Indian Township Reservation of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, Penobscot Tribe
of Maine, and Pleasant Point Reservation of the Passamaquoddy Tribe)
and the Wampanoag Confederation (representing the Wampanoag Tribe of
Gay Head [Aquinnah], Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, and Assonet Band of the
Wampanoag); document the concurrence of the Wabanaki Confederacy and
the Wampanoag Confederation with the proposed disposition; publish a
Notice of Inventory Completion in the Federal Register; and consider
documentation compiled as part of the inventory process as public
information, and available for education and scientific uses. The New
Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, on behalf of the four
museums, documented in a November 14, 2001, letter to the review
committee that three of the requirements had been met, noting that the
fourth requirement would be met with the publication of this Notice of
Inventory Completion.
    In 1967, human remains representing a minimum of one individual
were removed from the Hunter site during excavations by Howard Sargent
of Franklin Pierce College for the New Hampshire State Highway
Department. The Hunter site is in Claremont, NH, on the Sugar River
near its confluence with the Connecticut River. No known individual was
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Museum documentation indicates that the human remains were removed
from the Hunter site and were curated at Franklin Pierce College until
1996 when they were transferred to the New Hampshire Division of
Historical Resources for curation. On the basis of stratigraphic and
archeological context, the human remains have been dated to the Middle
or Late Woodland period (A.D. 1-1500). Archeological, historical, and
ethnographic sources, along with oral traditions of the Western
Abenaki, indicate that this portion of New Hampshire is within the
aboriginal and historic homeland of the Western Abenaki from at least
the Late Archaic period (4000-2000 B.C.) through the Historic period
(post-A.D. 1500). The Western Abenaki are represented today by the
Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, Abenaki Nation of New Hampshire, Cowasuck
Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People, and First Nation of New
Hampshire, all nonfederally recognized Indian groups.
    In 1968, human remains representing a minimum of two individuals
were removed from the Smyth site during excavations by Howard Sargent
of Franklin Pierce College for the New Hampshire State Highway
Department.

[[Page 45537]]

 The Smyth site is in Concord, NH, on a terrace above the Merrimack
River. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary
objects are present.
    Museum documentation indicates that the human remains were removed
from the Smyth site during a salvage excavation and were curated at
Franklin Pierce College until 1997 when they were transferred to the
New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources. On the basis of
stratigraphic and archeological context, the human remains have been
dated to the Woodland period (1000 B.C.-A.D. 1500). Archeological,
historical, and ethnographic sources, along with oral traditions of the
Western Abenaki, indicate that this portion of New Hampshire is within
the aboriginal and historic homeland of the Western Abenaki from at
least the Late Archaic period (4000-2000 B.C.) through the Historic
period (post-A.D. 1500). The Western Abenaki are represented today by
the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, Abenaki Nation of New Hampshire,
Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People, and First Nation of New
Hampshire, all nonfederally recognized Indian groups.
    In 1971, human remains representing a minimum of one individual
were donated by Clyde Berry to the Manchester Historical Association.
No known individual was identified. The six associated funerary objects
are one small bag of ocher, one small bag of charcoal, one small bag of
lithic flakes, one small bag of animal bone, one small bag of turtle
shell, and one small bag of fragmentary bone tools. The human remains
and associated funerary objects were transferred in 1999 to the New
Hampshire Division of Historical Resources for curation.
    Museum documentation indicates that these human remains (Berry
Collection number 4256) are of a cremated individual from a grave with
ocher-stained soil that was exposed by WPA workers in the 1930s during
road construction on a terrace above the Merrimack River in Manchester,
NH. The radiocarbon date from associated charcoal is 8490 +/- 60 B.P.
Archeological, historical, and ethnographic sources, along with oral
traditions of the Western Abenaki, indicate that this portion of New
Hampshire is within the aboriginal and historic homeland of the Western
Abenaki from at least the Late Archaic period (4000-2000 B.C.) through
the Historic period (post-A.D. 1500). The Western Abenaki are
represented today by the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, Abenaki Nation
of New Hampshire, Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People, and
First Nation of New Hampshire, all nonfederally recognized Indian
groups.
    In the 1950s, human remains representing a minimum of one
individual were donated by Clyde Berry as part of the Berry Collection
to the Manchester Historical Association. No known individual was
identified. The four associated funerary objects are three small animal
bones and a bone awl. The human remains and associated funerary objects
were transferred in 1999 to the New Hampshire Division of Historical
Resources for curation.
    Museum documentation indicates that these human remains (Berry
Collection number 3745) were recovered at Amoskeag on the west bank of
the Merrimack River in Manchester, NH, by a workman digging a utility
trench at an unknown date. Based on the condition of the bone, the
burial is considered to be from the Woodland period (2000 B.C.-
A.D.1500). Archeological, historical, and ethnographic sources, along
with oral traditions of the Western Abenaki, indicate that this portion
of New Hampshire is within the aboriginal and historic homeland of the
Western Abenaki from at least the Late Archaic period (4000-2000 B.C.)
through the Historic period (post-A.D. 1500). The Western Abenaki are
represented today by the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, Abenaki Nation
of New Hampshire, Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People, and
First Nation of New Hampshire, all nonfederally recognized Indian
groups.
    In 1971, human remains representing a minimum of one individual
were donated by Clyde Berry to the Manchester Historical Association.
No known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are
present. These human remains were transferred in 1999 to the New
Hampshire Division of Historical Resources for curation.
    Museum documentation indicates that these human remains (Berry
Collection number 3566) were found by Francis K. Berry in 1938 and
removed by James W. House in 1939 from a locale known as the
Narrows on the Merrimack River in Bedford, NH. The age of
the burial is undetermined but has been determined to be Native
American on the basis of its recovery in context with other Native
American archeological material of Archaic and Woodland age.
Archeological, historical, and ethnographic sources, along with oral
traditions of the Western Abenaki, indicate that this portion of New
Hampshire is within the aboriginal and historic homeland of the Western
Abenaki from at least the Late Archaic period (4000-2000 B.C.) through
the Historic period (post-A.D. 1500). The Western Abenaki are
represented today by the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, Abenaki Nation
of New Hampshire, Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People, and
First Nation of New Hampshire, all nonfederally recognized Indian
groups.
    In 1984, human remains representing a minimum of one individual
were donated to the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources by
the Museum at Fort No. 4, Charlestown, NH. No known individual was
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Museum documentation indicates that the human remains were found by
a local collector and donated to the Museum at Fort No. 4. There are no
records of either the discovery or the donation, but the identification
card made at the time of the donation labeled the human remains as
Late Woodland period (A.D. 1000-1500).
Information obtained recently indicates the human remains were
collected from an eroding bank of the Connecticut River just upstream
from the Museum at Fort No. 4, Charlestown, NH. Archeological,
historical, and ethnographic sources, along with oral traditions of the
Western Abenaki, indicate that this portion of New Hampshire is within
the aboriginal and historic homeland of the Western Abenaki from at
least the Late Archaic period (4000-2000 B.C.) through the Historic
period (post-A.D. 1500). The Western Abenaki are represented today by
the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, Abenaki Nation of New Hampshire,
Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People, and First Nation of New
Hampshire, all nonfederally recognized Indian groups.
    In 1982, human remains representing a minimum of one individual
were donated to the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources by
the Police Department of Concord, NH. The human remains were recovered
in 1974 during construction of a parking lot in Concord, NH, and were
investigated as Concord Police Case 1439C. No known individual was
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Museum documentation indicates that the human remains belong to the
Late Woodland/Historic period (circa A.D. 1000-present). The burial has
been determined to be Native American on the basis of its recovery in
context with other Native American archeological materials.
Archeological, historical, and ethnographic sources, along with oral
traditions of the Western Abenaki, indicate that this portion of New
Hampshire is within the aboriginal and historic homeland of the Western
Abenaki from at least the Late Archaic period (4000-2000 B.C.) through
the

[[Page 45538]]

Historic period (post-A.D. 1500). The Western Abenaki are represented
today by the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, Abenaki Nation of New
Hampshire, Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People, and First
Nation of New Hampshire, all nonfederally recognized Indian groups.
    In 1994, human remains representing a minimum of one individual
were removed from a site near the New Hampshire Technical Institute in
Concord, NH, by Dr. Thomas Hemmings of the New Hampshire Division of
Public Works and were placed with the New Hampshire Division of
Historical Resources the same year. No known individual was identified.
No associated funerary objects are present.
    Museum documentation indicates that the human remains were removed
from flood deposits of the Historic period (post-A.D. 1500) by Dr.
Hemmings during pre-construction research for the New Hampshire
Division of Public Works on the Merrimack River flood plain at the New
Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord, NH. The burial has been
determined to be Native American on the basis of its recovery in
context with other Native American archeological materials.
Archeological, historical, and ethnographic sources, along with oral
traditions of the Western Abenaki, indicate that this portion of New
Hampshire is within the aboriginal and historic homeland of the Western
Abenaki from at least the Late Archaic period (4000-2000 B.C.) through
the Historic period (post-A.D. 1500). The Western Abenaki are
represented today by the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, Abenaki Nation
of New Hampshire, Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People, and
First Nation of New Hampshire, all nonfederally recognized Indian
groups.
    In 1984, human remains representing a minimum of one individual
were removed from the Beaver Brook site during excavations by Dr. David
Starbuck and Dennis Howe, and were placed with the New Hampshire
Division of Historical Resources in 1985. No known individual was
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Museum documentation indicates that the human remains were removed
by Dr. David Starbuck and Dennis Howe, independent researchers, during
an archeological study of the Beaver Brook site on the flood plain of
the Merrimack River in Concord, NH. The site was not identified as a
cremation burial at the time that the bones were removed. Later, staff
of the a Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, Harvard University,
Cambridge, MA, identified the bone as human while conducting an
osteological analysis for the excavators. At this time, the bone and
the stone pavement and stone pyramid, which were associated with the
bones, were identified as features of a cremation burial. The
radiocarbon date from associated charcoal is 5155 +/- 190 B.P.
Archeological, historical, and ethnographic sources, along with oral
traditions of the Western Abenaki, indicate that this portion of New
Hampshire is within the aboriginal and historic homeland of the Western
Abenaki from at least the Late Archaic period (4000-2000 B.C.) through
the Historic period (post-A.D. 1500). The Western Abenaki are
represented today by the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, Abenaki Nation
of New Hampshire, Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People, and
First Nation of New Hampshire, all nonfederally recognized Indian
groups.
    In 1975, human remains representing a minimum of four individuals
were removed from the Rocks Road site during excavations by Dr. Charles
Bolian of the University of New Hampshire. The human remains were
transferred to the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources for
curation in 1999. No known individuals were identified. No associated
funerary objects are present.
    Museum documentation indicates that these human remains were
removed from the Rocks Road site (also known as the Seabrook Station
site) during a pre-construction archeological project for the Seabrook
Station nuclear power plant in Seabrook, NH, on the Atlantic coast. A
radiocarbon date from associated charcoal is 650 B.P. Archeological,
historical, and ethnographic sources, along with oral traditions of the
Western Abenaki, indicate that this portion of New Hampshire is within
the aboriginal and historic homeland of the Western Abenaki from at
least the Late Archaic period (4000-2000 B.C.) through the Historic
period (post-A.D. 1500). The Eastern Abenaki and Wampanoag appear also
to have cultural ties to coastal New Hampshire in the Historic period.
The Western Abenaki are represented today by the Abenaki Nation of
Missisquoi, Abenaki Nation of New Hampshire, Cowasuck Band of the
Pennacook-Abenaki People, and First Nation of New Hampshire, all
nonfederally recognized Indian groups.
    In 1975, human remains representing a minimum of three individuals
were removed from the Seabrook Marsh site in Seabrook, NH, by Dr.
Charles Bolian and Brian Robinson of the University of New Hampshire.
The human remains were transferred in 1999 to the New Hampshire
Division of Historical Resources for curation. No known individuals
were identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Museum documentation indicates that the human remains were removed
from the Seabrook Marsh site in Seabrook, NH, during an archeological
survey of New Hampshire's Atlantic seacoast. The site is dated to the
Late Archaic period (4000-2000 B.C.) based on radiocarbon dating.
Archeological, historical, and ethnographic sources, along with oral
traditions of the Western Abenaki, indicate that this portion of New
Hampshire is within the aboriginal and historic homeland of the Western
Abenaki from at least the Late Archaic period (4000-2000 B.C.) through
the Historic period (post-A.D. 1500). The Eastern Abenaki and Wampanoag
appear also to have cultural ties to coastal New Hampshire in the
Historic period. The Western Abenaki are represented today by the
Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, Abenaki Nation of New Hampshire, Cowasuck
Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People, and First Nation of New
Hampshire, all nonfederally recognized Indian groups.
    Based on the above-mentioned information, officials of the New
Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, acting on behalf of the
four museums, have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(1), the
human remains listed above represent the physical remains of 17
individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of the New Hampshire
Division of Historical Resources, acting on behalf of the four museums,
also have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(2), the 10
associated funerary 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 New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, acting on behalf
of the four museums, 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 Abenaki
Nation of Missisquoi (a nonfederally recognized Indian group),
representing a coalition of Western Abenaki groups, including the
Abenaki Nation of New Hampshire (a nonfederally recognized Indian
group), Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People (a nonfederally
recognized Indian group), and the First Nation of New Hampshire (a
nonfederally recognized Indian group).

[[Page 45539]]

    This notice has been sent to the Penobscot Tribe of Maine, Wabanaki
Confederacy, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) of
Massachusetts, Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi (a nonfederally recognized
Indian group), Abenaki Nation of New Hampshire (a nonfederally
recognized Indian group), Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People
(a nonfederally recognized Indian group), and First Nation of New
Hampshire (a nonfederally recognized Indian group). Representatives of
any other Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated
with these human remains, should contact Richard Boisvert, Deputy State
Archeologist, New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, P.O. Box
2043, Concord, NH 03302-2043, telephone (603) 271-6628, before August
8, 2002. Repatriation of the human remains to the Abenaki Nation of
Missisquoi, representing a coalition of Western Abenaki groups, may
begin after that date if no additional claimants come forward.

    Dated: April 10, 2002.
Robert Stearns,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 02-17090 Filed 7-8-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-S