[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 5, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65875-65876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26353]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: U.S. Department of
the Interior, National Park Service, Delaware Water Gap National
Recreation Area, Bushkill, PA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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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 in the possession of the U.S. Department
of the Interior, National Park Service, Delaware Water Gap National
Recreation Area, Bushkill, PA, that meet the definition of
``unassociated funerary objects'' under 25 U.S.C. 3001.
[[Page 65876]]
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
superintendent, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
In 1967, human remains and funerary objects were removed from the
Miller Field site during legally authorized excavations by Seton Hall
University, under the direction of Herbert Kraft. According to Kraft,
the human remains were reburied in the early 1990s prior to the
promulgation of NAGPRA's regulations. The two unassociated funerary
objects are one celt and one stone. The burial style and diagnostic
artifacts date the burial to the Minisink phase (A.D. 1350-1650) of the
Late Woodland Period.
In 1971, human remains and funerary objects were removed from the
Harry's Farm site in Warren County, NJ, during legally authorized
excavations by Seton Hall University, under the direction of Herbert
Kraft. According to Kraft, the human remains were reburied in the early
1990s prior to the promulgation of NAGPRA's regulations. The two
unassociated funerary objects are an incised pipe and a plain pipe. The
Munsee Incised style pipe dates the burial to the Minisink phase (A.D.
1350-1650) of the Late Woodland Period.
In 1974, funerary objects were removed from the Minisink site, in
Sussex County, NJ, during legally authorized excavations by Seton Hall
University, under the direction of Herbert Kraft. According to Kraft,
the human remains were not removed from their burial pits. The 11
unassociated funerary objects are 1 ceramic pot, 1 pestle fragment, 1
celt fragment, 1 milling stone, 2 biface fragments, 3 rim sherds, 1
teshoa, and 1 brass chain. Burial styles and diagnostic artifacts date
two burials to the Late Woodland Period (A.D. 1000-1650), while the
brass chain dates a third burial to the Historic Period (circa A.D.
1650-1750).
In 1972, human remains and funerary objects were removed from the
Pahaquarra site in Warren County, NJ, during legally authorized
excavations by Seton Hall University under the direction of Herbert
Kraft. According to Kraft, the human remains were reburied in the early
1990s prior to the promulgation of NAGPRA's regulations. The 61
unassociated funerary objects are 2 pots, 38 black glass beads, 4 blue
faceted glass beads, 1 red glass bead, 2 shell beads, 2 brass wire hair
spools, 2 gunflints, 6 flintlock trade gun fragments, 1 clasp knife, 1
bag of botanical remains, and 2 metal fragments. Burial styles and
pottery types date two burials to the Late Woodland Period (A.D. 1000-
1650). The remaining items date to the Historic Period (circa A.D.
1650-1750).
Archeological evidence indicates that the people living in the
Upper Delaware Valley formed a distinct group with unique stone tool
traditions, bone tool traditions, settlement patterns, subsistence
patterns, and burial styles as early as A.D. 1000. Continuity in the
artifact styles, settlement and subsistence patterns, and burial styles
suggest that the same people remained in the Upper Delaware Valley
throughout the Late Woodland Period (A.D. 1000-1650) and into the
Historic Period (circa A.D. 1650-1750). Historic records from the 17th
and 18th centuries refer to the inhabitants of the Upper Delaware
Valley, including Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, as
``Minisink.'' Linguistic information indicates that these people spoke
the Munsee dialect of the Delaware language. During consultations,
tribal representatives identified the Upper Delaware Valley as the
traditional territory of the Lenape, or the Delaware-speaking people.
As their traditional lands were sold, some Munsee people joined the
Stockbridge Mohican in Massachusetts and New York and remained with
them when the community resettled in Wisconsin. Today their descendants
are members of the Stockbridge Munsee Community. Other Munsee people
joined communities comprised primarily of people from southern New
Jersey and Pennsylvania who spoke the Unami dialect of the Delaware
language. These combined Delaware communities migrated westward and
eventually settled in Oklahoma. Today descendants of these communities
are members of the Delaware Nation, Oklahoma or the Delaware Tribe of
the Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma.
Officials of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area have
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(B), the 76 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. Officials of Delaware Water Gap National
Recreation Area also have determined that, 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
Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Nation, Oklahoma; and Stockbridge
Munsee Community, Wisconsin.
When consultation was initiated, the Delaware Tribe of Indians,
Oklahoma was Federally recognized. During consultations, court rulings
determined that the Delaware Tribe cannot be recognized as a separate
entity from the Cherokee Nation and that the Delaware Tribe is a part
of the Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma. A cultural affiliation determination
was made with the Delaware Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma prior to its
change in status. This determination is reflected in this notice as
affiliation with the Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma.
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to
be culturally affiliated with the unassociated funerary objects should
contact John J. Donahue, Superintendent, Delaware Water Gap National
Recreation Area, River Road, Bushkill, PA 18324, telephone (570) 426-
2418, before December 5, 2008. Repatriation of the unassociated
funerary objects to the Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Nation,
Oklahoma; and Stockbridge Munsee Community, Wisconsin may proceed after
that date if no additional claimants come forward.
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is responsible for
notifying the Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Nation, Oklahoma; and
Stockbridge Munsee Community, Wisconsin that this notice has been
published.
Dated: October 21, 2008
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E8-26353 Filed 11-4-08; 8:45 am]
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