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

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University has completed an inventory of associated funerary objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the associated funerary objects and any present-day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these associated funerary objects should submit a written request to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the associated funerary objects to the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES:

Representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these associated funerary objects should submit a written request with information in support of the request to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at the address in this notice by January 18, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 associated funerary objects under the control of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. The associated funerary objects were removed from Stewart County, TN.

This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3) and 43 CFR 10.11(d). The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native American associated funerary objects. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

A detailed assessment of the associated funerary objects was made by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; The Chickasaw Nation; The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma (hereafter referred to as “The Consulted Tribes”).

History and Description of the Associated Funerary Objects

The sites listed in this notice were excavated by Edwin Curtiss as part of a series of Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology expeditions in Middle Tennessee led by F.W. Putnam between 1877 and 1884. The human remains from these sites were previously listed in a Notice of Inventory Completion published in the Federal Register on December 21, 2018 (83 FR 65727-65728, December 21, 2018) and transferred to The Chickasaw Nation.

In 1879, human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals were removed from a “Mound on Mr. Banister's Place,” located near Dover in Stewart County, TN. The three associated funerary objects are one chipped stone biface, one ceramic owl effigy vessel, and one fluorspar pendant.

In 1879, human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals were removed from a cemetery on “James C. Green's Place,” located near Dover in Stewart County, TN. The 18 associated funerary objects are one small ceramic vessel and 17 ceramic sherds.

In 1879, human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals were removed from a mound on “Mr. Perkin's Farm,” located on the Cumberland River 100 miles below Nashville, in Stewart County, TN. The five associated funerary objects are two copper-covered wooden beads, one lead fragment, one sharpening stone, and one pumice stone.

Determinations Made by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University

Officials of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University have determined that:

• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 26 objects described in this notice 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.
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), a relationship of shared group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the associated funerary objects and any present-day Indian Tribe.
• According to final judgments of the Indian Claims Commission or the Court of Federal Claims, Treaties, Acts of Congress, or Executive Orders, the land from which the Native American associated funerary objects were removed is the aboriginal land of the Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; The Chickasaw Nation; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
• Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the human remains may be to the Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; The Chickasaw Nation; and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma (hereafter referred to as “The Tribes”).

Additional Requestors and Disposition

Representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these associated funerary objects should submit a written request with information in support of the request to Patricia Capone, Curator and NAGPRA Director, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, telephone (617) 496-3702, email pcapone@fas.harvard.edu, by January 18, 2022. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the associated funerary objects to The Tribes may proceed.

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University is responsible for notifying The Consulted Tribes that this notice has been published.