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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 234 (Thursday, December 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 96678-96679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-28496]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039141; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

Notice of Intended Repatriation: Riley County Historical Society 
and Museum, Manhattan, KS

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Riley County Historical Society and 
Museum (RCHSM) intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet 
the definition of unassociated funerary objects and that have a 
cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations in this notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on 
or after January 6, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Dawn Munger, Curator of Collections, Riley County Historical 
Society and Museum, 2309 Claflin Road, Manhattan, KS 66502, telephone 
(785) 565-6490, email [email protected] and Katharine Hensler, 
Director, Riley County Historical Society and Museum, 2309 Claflin 
Road, Manhattan, KS 66502, telephone (785) 565-6490, email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published as part of the 
National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA. 
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
RCHSM, and additional information on the determinations in this notice, 
including the results of consultation, can be found in the summary or 
related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    A total of 15 cultural items have been requested for repatriation. 
The 15 unassociated funerary objects include brass bells, a small metal 
cone, and beads made of shell and other unidentified material. 
According to institutional notes, these items were removed from a 
Native American grave located at Fort Laramie, WY. This would have 
likely occurred sometime between the 1930s and 1960s when the donor was 
most actively collecting. The items listed here were likely originally 
loaned along with many other items to the museum by collector and donor 
Elmer E. ``Peg'' Walter in the 1960s, and they were then converted into 
a gift to

[[Page 96679]]

the RCHSM in 1984. The items were previously mounted on a wooden board 
with glue, and there is still some old glue residue on the pieces 
(items were removed from the board in 1993).

Determinations

    The RCHSM has determined that:
     The 15 unassociated funerary objects described in this 
notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with 
or near human remains, and are connected, either at the time of death 
or later as part of the death rite or ceremony of a Native American 
culture according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a 
lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. The 
unassociated funerary objects have been identified by a preponderance 
of the evidence as related to human remains, specific individuals, or 
families, or removed from a specific burial site or burial area of an 
individual or individuals with cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe 
or Native Hawaiian organization.
     There is a reasonable connection between the cultural 
items described in this notice and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, 
Oklahoma.

Requests for Repatriation

    Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items 
in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified 
in this notice under ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be 
submitted by any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian 
organization not identified in this notice who shows, by a 
preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a lineal 
descendant or a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization.
    Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to a requestor 
may occur on or after January 6, 2025. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the RCHSM must determine the most 
appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint 
repatriation of the cultural items are considered a single request and 
not competing requests. The RCHSM is responsible for sending a copy of 
this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations 
identified in this notice and to any other consulting parties.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.

    Dated: November 22, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-28496 Filed 12-4-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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