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[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 185 (Friday, September 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58428-58429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23904]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Notice of Inventory Completion: Athens County Historical Society 
and Museum, Athens, OH

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice is hereby 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 
Athens County Historical Society and Museum, Athens, OH. The human 
remains were removed from Athens County, OH.
    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 Ohio 
University and the Athens County Historical Society and Museum 
professional staff in consultation with representatives of

[[Page 58429]]

the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Delaware Nation, 
Oklahoma; and Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma.
    In 1988, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed from the Coe Family Farm on Armitage Road, in Athens 
County, OH. On January 4, 2010, the human skull was found in a hatbox 
in the collections storage. According to a former museum curator, the 
human remains were removed by an Ohio University professor who 
considered himself an amateur archeologist. No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    According to Dr. Nancy Tatarek, a forensic anthropologist from Ohio 
University, the wear and coloration of the skull indicated that it was 
at least 300+ years old. Dr. Tatarek used the shape of the nose cavity 
to identify cultural background. On a reasonable basis, the human 
remains may be Native American, and possibly female. Furthermore, there 
were no white settlements in the Athens County area 300 years ago.
    Based on Indian land claims maps, the museum has determined the 
human remains have a shared group relationship with the Shawnee, which 
are represented by the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, 
Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and Shawnee Tribe, Oklahoma. Based on 
consultation, the museum has reasonably determined the human remains 
also have a shared group relationship with the Delaware, which are 
represented by the Delaware Nation, Oklahoma, and Delaware Tribe of 
Indians of Oklahoma.
    Officials of the Athens County Historical Society and Museum 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 Athens County Historical 
Society and 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 
Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Delaware Nation, 
Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Eastern Shawnee Tribe 
of Oklahoma; and Shawnee Tribe, Oklahoma.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Heather 
Reed, Curator/Education Coordinator, Athens County Historical Society 
and Museum, 65 N. Court St., Athens, OH 45701, telephone (740) 592-
2280, before October 25, 2010. Repatriation of the human remains to the 
Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Delaware Nation, 
Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Eastern Shawnee Tribe 
of Oklahoma; and Shawnee Tribe, Oklahoma, may proceed after that date 
if no additional claimants come forward.
    Athens County Historical Society and Museum is responsible for 
notifying the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Delaware 
Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Eastern 
Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; and the Shawnee Tribe, Oklahoma, that this 
notice has been published.

    Dated: September 10, 2010.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2010-23904 Filed 9-23-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-P
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