FR Doc 04-17581
[Federal Register: August 3, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 148)]
[Notices]
[Page 46566-46567]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03au04-100]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: Field Museum of
Natural History, Chicago, IL
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 43 CFR 10.8 (f), of the
intent to repatriate cultural items in the possession of the Field
Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, that meet the definition of
``unassociated funerary objects'' under 25 U.S.C. 3001.
This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 43 CFR 10.8 (f). The
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the cultural
items. The National Park Service is not responsible for the
determinations in the notice.
The six cultural items are one crescent moon rattle, one
oystercatcher rattle, one mask, one charm, one handpiece, and one hat.
The crescent moon rattle (catalog number 77921) is made of carved
wood painted red, black, and blue. Carved relief on both sides of the
rattle depict devilfish. The oystercatcher rattle
[[Page 46567]]
(catalog number 78670) is made of carved wood painted dark bluish-green
and red and decorated with ermine skin. On the back of the rattle, a
three-dimensional carving in high relief depicts a reclining man.
Superimposed over each arm is the three-dimensional carved depiction of
a fish. The mask (catalog number 78669) is made of carved wood painted
greenish-blue and decorated with copper, nails, and bearskin. The mask
depicts a half-otter, half-man spirit. The charm (catalog number 78679)
is made of bone carved to depict a land otter. The handpiece (catalog
number 78801) is made of wood carved to depict a human face and a
spirit with the face of a human and the body of an otter. The hat
(catalog number 84200) is made of a twined root and straw basket, with
geometric and naturalistic decorative elements in black. Two figures on
one side of the hat depict wolves.
At an unknown date, Lieutenant George Thorton Emmons acquired the
two rattles, and the mask, charm, and handpiece. In 1902, the Field
Museum of Natural History purchased the cultural items from Lieutenant
Emmons and accessioned the cultural items into its collection in the
same year (accession number 807). Museum records indicate that
Lieutenant Emmons acquired the cultural items in southeastern Alaska
and that the cultural items originally were the property of an
unidentified shaman or shamans of the ``Auk tribe.''. Museum records do
not indicate how Lieutenant Emmons acquired the cultural items.
Also at an unknown date, Lieutenant George Thorton Emmons acquired
the hat. In 1903, the Field Museum of Natural History purchased the hat
from Lieutenant Emmons and accessioned the cultural item into its
collection in the same year (accession number 843). According to museum
records, the hat was acquired in Juneau, AK, and was originally the
property of an unidentified shaman of the ``Hoonah tribe.''. Museum
records do not indicate how Lieutenant Emmons acquired the cultural
item.
The cultural affiliation of the cultural items is Tlingit as
indicated by museum records and by consultation evidence presented by
the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes. The Central
Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes requested the return of
the cultural items on behalf of two clans within the Aak'w tribe, the
Wooshkeetaan and the L'eeneidi. Consultation evidence and the
ethnographic literature indicate that the cultural items were removed
from specific burial sites of Native American individuals, and that
cultural items of this type were used only by the ixt' (shaman) of the
Tlingit and usually were placed with the deceased shaman in above-
ground burials.
Officials of the Field Museum of Natural History have determined
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(B), the cultural items described
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 and are believed, by a preponderance of the
evidence, to have been removed from specific burial sites of Native
American individuals. Officials of the Field Museum of Natural History
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 the six unassociated funerary objects and the Central Council
of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes.
Officials of the Field Museum of Natural History assert that,
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (13), the museum has right of possession of
the six unassociated funerary objects. Officials of the Field Museum of
Natural History recognize the significance of the six unassociated
funerary objects to the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian
Tribes and have reached an agreement with the Central Council of the
Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes that allows the museum to return the six
unassociated funerary objects to the Central Council of the Tlingit &
Haida Indian Tribes voluntarily, pursuant to the compromise of claim
provisions of the museum's repatriation policy.
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to
be culturally affiliated with the unassociated funerary objects should
contact Jonathan Haas, MacArthur Curator of the Americas, Field Museum
of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605,
telephone (312) 665-7829, before September 2, 2004. Repatriation of the
unassociated funerary objects to the Central Council of the Tlingit &
Haida Indian Tribes may proceed after that date if no additional
claimants come forward.
The Field Museum of Natural History is responsible for notifying
the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes, Douglas
Indian Association, Goldbelt Incorporated, Hoonah Indian Association,
Huna Totem Corporation, and Sealaska Corporation that this notice has
been published.
Dated: May 7, 2004
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources.
[FR Doc. 04-17581 Filed 8-2-04; 8:45 am]
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