Notice of Inventory Completion: Department of Anthropology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 55850-55851 [2022-19617]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• National Park Service

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 175 (Monday, September 12, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55850-55851]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19617]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0034491; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Department of Anthropology, 
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Anthropology, Cornell University has 
completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary 
objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native 
Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is a cultural 
affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects 
and present-day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal 
descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization not identified in this notice that wish to request 
transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary 
objects should submit a written request to the Department of 
Anthropology, Cornell University. If no additional requestors come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects 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 
request transfer of control of these human remains and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to the Department of Anthropology, Cornell 
University at the address in this notice by October 12, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Velasco, Department of 
Anthropology, Cornell University, 261 McGraw Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, 
telephone (607) 255-5137, email [email protected].

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 human remains and 
associated funerary objects under the control of the Department of 
Anthropology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. The human remains and 
associated funerary objects were removed from Broome County, NY.
    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 and associated funerary objects. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the 
Department of Anthropology, Cornell University professional staff in 
consultation with the Haudenosaunee Standing Committee on Burial Rules 
and Regulations and representatives of the Oneida Indian Nation 
(previously listed as Oneida Nation of New York); Onondaga Nation; 
Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (previously listed as St. Regis Band of Mohawk 
Indians of New York); and the Tuscarora Nation.

History and Description of the Remains

    In August of 1964, human remains representing, at minimum, three 
individuals were removed near the site of Onaquaga in Broome County, 
NY, during the digging of a waterline ditch. The property owner, Harry 
Springsteen, notified the local sheriff. Subsequently, Professor 
Kenneth A. R. Kennedy of Cornell University was asked to provide a 
forensic identification of the human remains. By September 8, 1964, 
Kennedy had completed a report that concluded the human remains 
belonged to a young adult male of Native American ancestry. Whether the 
human remains were transferred to Kennedy's laboratory immediately 
after their removal or were temporarily held by the Old Onaquaga 
Historical Society (OOHS) is unclear, but correspondence between R. 
Leone Jacob, then president of the OOHS, and Kennedy in May of 1966 
concluded that the human remains would remain at Cornell University. 
After Kennedy's death in 2014, the human remains were transferred to 
the Department of Anthropology. Kennedy's original description of the 
human remains did not note the presence of additional skeletal remains 
belonging to two subadults of indeterminate sex, one of whom 
(represented by fragmentary postcranial remains) was less than 20 years 
old and the other (represented by a single bone) 4 years old or 
younger. No known individuals were identified. The 22 associated 
funerary objects are three pottery sherds (two of which are sand-
tempered and cord-impressed), one piece of leather, one deer first 
phalanx, one deer radius fragment, one large mammal skull fragment, one 
large bird vertebra, one turtle scapula, one acorn, one black walnut, 
five unidentified seeds, two fragments of a plaster-like material, and 
four fragments of concrete or mortar.
    Based on physical analysis and burial location, the human remains 
are determined to be Native American. The site of Onaquaga was a large 
multinational settlement located on the banks of the Susquehanna River 
near present-day Windsor, NY, in the traditional territory of the 
Oneida Indian Nation. Historical evidence indicates that members of 
many Nations, including the Oneidas, Tuscaroras, and Mohawks, 
frequented this village, and that other peoples likely took refuge 
there, too. The Oneidas were the primary occupants of Onaquaga in the 
1600s and early 1700s, after which Tuscaroras began to arrive in 
greater numbers, followed by Mohawks. From the available evidence, it 
is not possible to conclusively determine the age of the human remains 
relative to the historical occupation of Onaquaga. The association of 
cord-impressed ceramic sherds, along with the presence of a rock 
covering over the grave (noted in a local news article at the time of 
removal), present the possibility that the

[[Page 55851]]

human remains significantly predate A.D. 1700. Although the human 
remains from Onaquaga cannot be associated with a particular tribal 
group, given the geographic location of Onaquaga and the history of 
settlement there, they can be reasonably culturally affiliated with the 
Oneida Indian Nation (previously listed as Oneida Nation of New York); 
Onondaga Nation; Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (previously listed as St. 
Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York); and Tuscarora Nation.

Determinations Made by the Department of Anthropology, Cornell 
University

    Officials of the Department of Anthropology, Cornell University 
have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of three individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 22 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), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects and the Oneida 
Indian Nation (previously listed as Oneida Nation of New York); 
Onondaga Nation; Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (previously listed as St. 
Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York); and the Tuscarora Nation 
(hereafter referred to as ``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 
request transfer of control of these human remains and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to Matthew Velasco, Department of Anthropology, 
Cornell University, 261 McGraw Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, telephone (607) 
255-5137, email [email protected], by October 12, 2022. After that 
date, if no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of 
control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to The 
Tribes may proceed.
    The Department of Anthropology, Cornell University is responsible 
for notifying The Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: September 1, 2022.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2022-19617 Filed 9-9-22; 8:45 am]
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