[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48288-48289]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-22778]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

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), 25 U.S.C. 3003, of the 
completion of an inventory of human remains in the possession of 
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY. The human remains were removed from 
Onondaga County, NY.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003 (d)(3). 
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native 
American human remains. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Syracuse 
University professional staff in consultation with representatives of 
the Onondaga Nation of New York.
    In 1987, human remains representing a minimum of two individuals 
were removed from the Bloody Hill II Site also known as the Weston Site 
located on Gates Road in the Town of Pompey, Onondaga County, NY, 
during archeological excavations designed to mitigate development of 
the property on Gates Road. The excavation was conducted by Dr. Thomas 
Newman acting as an independent contractor under a contract carried out 
by the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental 
Science and Forestry at Syracuse. In 1989, Dr. Newman mailed two boxes 
to Dr. Mark Fleishman at Syracuse University. In 2002, the boxes were 
found unopened in a lab by Dr. Douglas Armstrong. Shortly after 
discovery, the boxes were taken to the Onondaga Nation where they were 
opened jointly by Dr. Armstrong and the Onondaga Nation Chief Paul 
Waterman. Each box contained fragmentary human remains in a soil 
matrix. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    The Bloody Hill II Site is a known historic site with direct 
historical links to the Onondaga Nation. The site dates to the period 
A.D. 1663-1682 (as reported by James Tuck and James Bradley). Based on 
bioarcheological analysis, these individuals have been determined to be 
two Native American females. The human remains are incomplete and 
fragmentary and include the clay matrix in which the individuals were 
found. Both individuals are from the definitively Onondaga cultural 
context from the Weston (Bloody Hill II) site. Present-day descendants 
of the Onondaga are represented by the Onondaga Nation of New York.
    Officials of Syracuse University have determined that, pursuant to 
25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains described above represent the 
physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry. 
Officials of Syracuse University 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 Native American human remains 
and the Onondaga Nation of New York.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Douglas 
Armstrong, Archaeological Collections Facility, Anthropology 
Department, 209 Maxwell Hall, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, 
telephone (315) 443-2405, before October 22, 2009. Repatriation of the 
human remains to the Onondaga Nation of New York may proceed after that 
date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The Syracuse University is responsible for notifying the Onondaga 
Nation of New York that this notice has been published.


[[Page 48289]]


    Dated: September 8, 2009
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E9-22778 Filed 9-21-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-S