[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 13, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47230-47231]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-18690]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Kingman Museum, Incorporated, 
Battle Creek, MI

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 
Kingman Museum, Incorporated, Battle Creek, MI. The human remains were 
removed from Muskegon 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 Kingman 
Museum, Incorporated professional staff in consultation with 
representatives from the Michigan Anishnaabek Cultural Preservation and 
Repatriation Alliance (MACPRA), a non-federally recognized Indian 
group. The Kingman Museum, Incorporated professional staff also 
consulted with representatives of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and

[[Page 47231]]

Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, 
Michigan; Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan; Pokagon 
Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana; and Saginaw Chippewa 
Indian Tribe of Michigan.
    In 1918, human remains representing a minimum of four individuals 
were removed from a sand mound near Muskegon, Muskegon County, MI, by 
J. Howard Baker, Mrs. Blanche McFarland, and Lewis Kelly. The human 
remains were donated to the Battle Creek Public Schools prior to 1997. 
In 2006, Battle Creek Public Schools transferred the human remains to 
the newly formed Kingman Museum, Incorporated, a 501(c)3 charitable 
organization. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    A handwritten piece of paper found with the human remains gives 
information on the excavation. The mound measured 14 inches by 25 
inches and stood about 3 feet above ground level. The human remains 
were found in a sitting position. While as many as eight individuals 
may have originally been in the mound, only four individuals were 
collected. Funerary objects may also have been collected, but were not 
given to the museum.
    The human remains were documented by Janet Gardner and Robert 
Anemone, Department of Anthropology, Western Michigan University. The 
documentation concluded that the physical characteristics of the human 
remains and the details of the burial context are indicative of a 
Native American population. However, a relationship of shared group 
identity between the human remains and a present-day Indian Tribe could 
not be reasonably determined.
    Officials of Kingman Museum, Incorporated have determined that, 
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains described above 
represent the physical remains of four individuals of Native American 
ancestry. Officials of Kingman Museum, Incorporated also have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), a relationship of 
shared group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the Native 
American human remains and any present-day Indian Tribe.
    The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review 
Committee (Review Committee) is responsible for recommending specific 
actions for disposition of culturally unidentifiable human remains. In 
2008, Kingman Museum, Incorporated requested that the Review Committee 
recommend disposition of the four culturally unidentifiable individuals 
to the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan; Pokagon 
Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana; and Saginaw Chippewa 
Indian Tribe of Michigan, as the aboriginal occupants of the lands 
encompassing Muskegon, Muskegon County.
    The Review Committee considered the request at its May 15-16, 2008 
meeting and recommended disposition of the human remains to the Little 
Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan; Pokagon Band of 
Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana; and Saginaw Chippewa Indian 
Tribe of Michigan. A June 6, 2008, letter on behalf of the Secretary of 
the Interior from the Designated Federal Official, transmitted the 
authorization for the museum to effect disposition of the human remains 
of the culturally unidentifiable individuals to the three Indians 
tribes listed above contingent on the publication of a Notice of 
Inventory Completion in the Federal Register. This notice fulfills that 
requirement.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Katie 
Nelson, Collection Manager, Kingman Museum, Incorporated, 175 Limit 
Street, Battle Creek, MI 49037, telephone (269) 965-5117, fax (269) 
965-3330, before September 12, 2008. Disposition of the human remains 
to the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan; Pokagon 
Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana; and Saginaw Chippewa 
Indian Tribe of Michigan may proceed after that date if no additional 
claimants come forward.
    Kingman Museum, Incorporated is responsible for notifying 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; Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and 
Indiana; and Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan that this notice 
has been published.

    Dated: July 22, 2008
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E8-18690 Filed 8-12-08; 8:45 am]
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