[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 98 (Friday, May 21, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28648-28649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-12275]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

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 the 
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, 
Cambridge, MA. The human remains were removed from Iosco County, MI.
    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 the Peabody 
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology professional staff in consultation 
with representatives of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa 
Indians, Michigan; Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Michigan; 
Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan; Ottawa Tribe of 
Oklahoma; and Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan.
    In 1856, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed from the western shore of Tawas Point, in Iosco County, 
MI, by Henry Gillman. They were donated to the Peabody Museum of 
Archaeology and Ethnology by Mr. Gillman in 1869. No known individual 
was identified. Mr. Gillman described finding a copper vessel and other 
``small articles'' with the human remains. However, these items were 
not accessioned into the museum's collection and their disposition is 
unknown. Therefore, no associated funerary objects are present.
    Museum documentation indicates that this individual was recovered 
from a burial mound. Contextual information suggests that this 
individual is most likely Native American. This interment likely dates 
to the Historic period due to the presence of a copper vessel. 
Information from manuscript maps of Douglass Houghton, the first 
Geologist for the State of Michigan, indicates that there was a village 
near the mouth of the Tawas River in 1838. He describes the village as 
that of Outawanse. Consultation with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe 
of Michigan indicates that Outawanse was a chief of the Saginaw 
Chippewa Tribe during the 19th century. The Tawas River flows into the 
western shore of Tawas Bay, directly across the water from Tawas Point, 
where these remains were recovered. Given the presence of the Saginaw 
Chippewa village in the specific area of the burial during the Historic 
period, it is likely that the human remains are ancestral Saginaw 
Chippewa. The present-day group that represents the Saginaw Chippewa 
people is the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan.
    Officials of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains 
described above represent the physical remains of one individual of 
Native American ancestry. Officials of the Peabody Museum of 
Archaeology and Ethnology have also 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 Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Patricia 
Capone, Repatriation Coordinator, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138, 
telephone (617) 496-3702, before June 21, 2010. Repatriation of the 
human remains to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan may 
proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is responsible for 
notifying the Grand Traverse Band of

[[Page 28649]]

Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Little River Band of Ottawa 
Indians, Michigan; Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, 
Michigan; Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma; and Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe 
of Michigan that this notice has been published.

    Dated: May 6, 2010.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2010-12275 Filed 5-20-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-S