[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 181 (Monday, September 18, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 56326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-23873]


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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 Possession of the Haffenreffer 
Museum of Anthropology, Brown University, Bristol, RI

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), 25 U.S.C. 
3003(d), of the completion of an inventory of human remains and 
associated funerary objects in the possession of the Haffenreffer 
Museum of Anthropology, Brown University, Bristol, RI.
    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 
cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations within this notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the 
Haffenreffer Museum professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Penobscot Tribe of Maine, Aroostook Band of 
Micmac Indians of Maine, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians of Maine, and 
the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Maine, collectively identified hereafter as 
the Wabenaki Tribes of Maine.
    Before 1860, human remains representing one individual (HUM-111) 
were excavated by Alpheus S. Packard at a site of unknown location in 
Merepoint, Brunswick, ME. Around 1860, Brown University Department of 
Geology acquired human remains removed from this site. In 1957, these 
human remains were transferred to the Haffenreffer Museum, Brown 
University. No known individual was identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    Catalog records indicate that the site was a shell mound dating to 
the 16th-17th century. Based on the date and context of the site, this 
individual has been identified as Native American. Oral history 
submitted by the Wabenaki Tribes of Maine and historical records 
identify the Casco Bay, Merepoint, Brunswick area of Maine, where the 
site is located, as part of the traditional territory of the Penobscot 
Tribe of Maine. There is no evidence to indicate otherwise.
    Based on the above-mentioned information, Haffenreffer Museum 
officials 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. Haffenreffer Museum officials 
also have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), there is a 
relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced 
between these Native American human remains and the Penobscot Tribe of 
Maine.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Penobscot Tribe of 
Maine, Aroostook Band of Micmac Indians of Maine, Houlton Band of 
Maliseet Indians of Maine, and the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Maine. 
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with these human remains should contact Thierry 
Gentis, NAGPRA Coordinator, Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown 
University, Mount Hope Grant, Bristol, RI 02809, telephone (401) 253-
8388, before October 18, 2000. Repatriation of the human remains to the 
Penobscot Tribe of Maine may begin after that date if no additional 
claimants come forward.

    Dated: September 8, 2000.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.
[FR Doc. 00-23873 Filed 9-15-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F