Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum (Burke Museum), in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, has determined that the cultural items listed in this notice meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim these cultural items should submit a written request to the Burke Museum. If no additional claimants come forward, transfer of control of the cultural items to the lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES:

Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim these cultural items should submit a written request with information in support of the claim to the Burke Museum at the address in this notice by December 27, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

Peter Lape, Burke Museum, University of Washington, Box 353010, Seattle, WA 98195, telephone (206) 685-3849 x2, email plape@uw.edu.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3005, of the intent to repatriate cultural items under the control of the Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects under 25 U.S.C. 3001.

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 cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

History and Description of the Cultural Items

Between 1953 and 1954, two cultural items were removed from site 45-KL-27 in Klickitat County, WA, as part of a University of Washington Field Project led by Warren Caldwell. The cultural items were formally accessioned by the Burke Museum in 1966 (Burke Accn. #1966-86). The two unassociated funerary objects are two lots of unmodified wood.

Site 45-KL-27 borders the Columbia River in Washington. Museum documentation indicates that the cultural items were found in context with burials. Early and late published ethnographic documentation indicates that this was the aboriginal territory of the Western Columbia River Sahaptins, Wasco, Wishram, Yakima, Walla Walla, Umatilla, Tenino and Skin (Daughtery 1973, Hale 1841, Hunn and French 1998, French and French 1998, Mooney 1896, Murdock 1938, Ray 1936 and 1974, Spier 1936, Stern 1998). The descendants of these peoples are members of the present-day Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (previously listed as the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, Oregon); and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon (hereafter referred to as “The Tribes”).

Determinations Made by the Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum

Officials of the Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum have determined that:

• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the two cultural items described above are reasonably believed to have been placed with or near individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony and are believed, by a preponderance of the evidence, to have been removed from a specific burial site of a Native American individual.
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the unassociated funerary objects and The Tribes.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim these cultural items should submit a written request with information in support of the claim to Peter Lape, Burke Museum, University of Washington, Box 353010, Seattle, WA 98195, telephone (206) 685-3849 x2, email plape@uw.edu, by December 27, 2019. After that date, if no additional claimants have come forward, transfer of control of the unassociated funerary objects to The Tribes may proceed.

The Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum is responsible for notifying The Tribes that this notice has been published.