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

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University (PMAE) has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains were removed from Newport County, RI.

DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or after March 25, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

Patricia Capone, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, telephone (617) 496–3702, email pcapone@fas.harvard.edu.

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 PMAE. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice. Additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related records held by the PMAE.

Description

Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed from the Tiverton graves at Anaquaket Neck in Newport County, RI, by Andre Robeson in 1869 during a Peabody Museum Expedition directed by Jefferies Wyman. Copper staining on the remains indicate that the individual was buried sometime during the Historic/Contact period or later (post-A.D. 1500). In addition, the remains are described in PMAE sources as “Pocasset,” and such a specific attribution suggests that the burial dates to the Historic period. According to historic documentation and consultation with representatives of the Wampanoag Repatriation Confederation, the Pocasset are a historically known Wampanoag community. No associated funerary objects are present.

Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed from the Stone Bridge burial site in Tiverton, Newport County, RI at an unknown date by an unknown collector. The interment most likely dates to the Historic/Contact period or later (post-A.D. 1500) as the Stone Bridge burial site is a known Historic period burial ground. In addition, the remains are described in PMAE sources as “Pocasset,” and such a specific attribution suggests that the burial dates to the Historic period. According to historic documentation and consultation with representatives of the Wampanoag Repatriation Confederation, the Pocasset are a historically known Wampanoag community. No associated funerary objects are present.

Cultural Affiliation

The human remains in this notice are connected to one or more identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures. There is a relationship of shared group identity between the identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures and one or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. The following types of information were used to reasonably trace the relationship: anthropological, archeological, geographical, historical, and oral tradition.

Determinations

Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, the PMAE has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.

• There is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the human remains described in this notice and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the human remains in this notice must be sent to the Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES . Requests for repatriation may be submitted by:

1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice and, if joined to a request from one or more of the Indian Tribes, the Assonet Band of the Wampanoag Nation, a non-federally recognized Indian group.

2. 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 human remains in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after March 25, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the PMAE must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains are considered a single request and not competing requests. The PMAE is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.

This notice was submitted before the effective date of the revised regulations (88 FR 86452, December 13, 2023, effective January 12, 2024). As the notice conforms to the mandatory format of the Federal Register and includes the required information, the National Park Service is publishing this notice as submitted.

Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.