Notice of Inventory Completion: Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY, 25694-25695 [2023-08890]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• National Park Service

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 81 (Thursday, April 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25694-25695]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08890]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035723; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Rochester Museum & Science 
Center, Rochester, NY

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) 
has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary 
objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between 
the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or 
Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains and 
associated funerary objects were removed from Onondaga County, NY, and 
from the vicinity of Seneca Lake, which lies within Schuyler, Seneca, 
Yates, Ontario Counties, NY.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after May 30, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Kathryn Murano Santos, Rochester Museum & Science Center, 
657 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607, telephone (585) 697-1929, email 
[email protected].

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 
Rochester Museum & Science Center. 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 Rochester Museum & Science Center.

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from the Amber Site in Onondaga County, NY. These human remains were 
gifted to the RMSC by the Paleontological Research Institute in 1992. 
No known individual was identified. The five funerary objects are two 
pieces of hematite; two tube pipe fragments; and one piece of white 
clay.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from the Felix Site/Jack's Reef Site (Bwv 001) in Onondaga County, NY. 
These human remains were removed during an RMSC expedition in 1947. No 
known individual was identified. The two funerary objects are one chert 
projectile point and one Vinette rim sherd.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, four individuals were 
removed from the Robinson Site (Syr 005; Syr 005-1) in Onondaga County, 
NY. These human remains were excavated by the RMSC in 1937 and 1938. No 
known individuals were identified. The six associated funerary objects 
are one beaver incisor engraver; one section of a clay pipe stem; three 
notched chert projectile points; and one quartzite scraper.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals were 
removed from Smith's Island (Syr 007) in Onondaga County, NY. In 1942, 
the

[[Page 25695]]

human remains of two individuals and 11 associated funerary objects 
were collected by W.A. Ritchie during an RMSC expedition. In May of 
1947, the human remains of one individual and one combined lot of 
associated funerary objects were collected by C.A. Denman and acquired 
by the RMSC. No known individuals were identified. Of the 12 associated 
funerary objects, nine are present in the RMSC collections and three 
are currently missing. The nine present associated funerary objects are 
one chert projectile point; the faunal remains of two dogs; one granite 
pebble muller; one ceramic pipe bowl fragment; one side-notched 
projectile point base; one bone projectile point; one piece of 
carbonized wood; and one combined lot of tubular copper beads, a copper 
earring, discoidal shell beads, fragmentary conch shell pendants, and a 
shroud made from tree bark and animal hides. The three associated 
funerary objects currently missing are the faunal remains of one dog; 
one bone projectile point; and one lot of pottery sherds. The RMSC 
continues to look for the missing objects.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from the vicinity of Seneca Lake, which lies 
within Schuyler, Seneca, Yates, Ontario Counties, NY. No known 
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.

Cultural Affiliation

    The human remains and associated funerary objects 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 type of information was used to reasonably trace the 
relationship: geographical.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the Rochester Museum & Science Center has determined 
that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 10 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 25 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.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary 
objects described in this notice and the Cayuga Nation; Oneida Indian 
Nation; Oneida Nation; Onondaga Nation; Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in 
Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Tribe of the 
Mississippi in Iowa; Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe; Seneca Nation of 
Indians; Seneca-Cayuga Nation; Tonawanda Band of Seneca; and the 
Tuscarora Nation.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects 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.
    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 and associated funerary objects 
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after May 30, 2023. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, the Rochester Museum 
& Science Center must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to 
repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects are considered a single request and not 
competing requests. The Rochester Museum & Science Center is 
responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes 
identified in this notice.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9, 10.10, 
and 10.14.

    Dated: April 19, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-08890 Filed 4-26-23; 8:45 am]
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