[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 13, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47233-47234]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-18681]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: The Public Museum, Grand Rapids, 
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 
Public Museum, Grand Rapids, MI. The human remains were removed from 
either the vicinity of Mackinaw City or Mackinac Island, 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 Public 
Museum's professional staff in consultation with representatives of the 
Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, Michigan.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of two 
individuals were removed from the vicinity of Mackinaw City or Mackinac 
Island, MI, by E. H. Crane, an amateur archeologist and avid collector. 
Upon Mr. Crane's death in 1917, the Kent Scientific Museum, now known 
as The Public Museum, purchased his

[[Page 47234]]

collection of human remains and other anthropological and natural 
history collections, including the remains of these two individuals. No 
known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Museum records on the human remains are derived from Mr. Crane's 
notes (written directly onto the human remains) and the original 
information written into the museum's accession ledger at the time of 
acquisition. The museum records indicate that the human remains may be 
of mixed Native-European ancestry, suggesting a post-contact date. In 
1977, further examination by a bio-anthropologist found that the human 
remains were consistent with a mixture of European and Native American 
descent. In 2008, a professional anthropology consultant examined the 
human remains to ensure that they were Native American and[sol]or of 
mixed Native American and European descent, and concluded they did 
exhibit physical characteristics of a Native American individual, but 
that they were not so clearly exclusive that mixed Native American-
European ancestry could be ruled out.
    Museum records also indicated that the provenience was ``old 
Mackinac, Michigan.'' It is uncertain whether the exact provenience was 
Mackinac Island or the vicinity of Mackinaw City, as both of these 
locations were listed on later records, however, both Mackinaw City and 
Mackinac Island are in the tribal homeland of the Little Traverse Bay 
Band of Odawa Indians, Michigan. Historical evidence provided to the 
museum by the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians establishes the 
Mackinac area as ancestral land of the Little Traverse Bay Band of 
Odawa Indians since before the arrival of the first European settlers 
to the area in the 1670s. The same documentation also provided evidence 
of occurrences of inter-marriage between people of Native American and 
European descent. Based on museum records, collector's notes, 
consultation evidence, and extensive examination of the human remains, 
The Public Museum reasonably believes the human remains are of Native 
American ancestry and have a shared group relationship with the Little 
Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, Michigan.
    Officials of The Public Museum 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 The Public Museum 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 Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, Michigan.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Marilyn 
Merdzinski, Curator of Collections and Preservation, The Public Museum, 
272 Pearl St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504, telephone (616) 456-3521, 
before September 12, 2008. Repatriation of the human remains to the 
Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, Michigan may proceed after 
that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The Public Museum is responsible for notifying the Little Traverse 
Bay Band of Odawa Indians, Michigan and Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of 
Chippewa Indians of Michigan that this notice has been published.

    Dated: July 22, 2008
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E8-18681 Filed 8-12-08; 8:45 am]
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