SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This notice is published as part of the ( printed page 54761) National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA. The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the NYOPRHP and additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the summary or related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

A total of 187 cultural items have been requested for repatriation. The 50 unassociated funerary objects include wampum, pendants, gorgets, celts, adzes, ceramic bowl, pipe fragments, ceramic pots, bear teeth, and bear jaw. The 137 sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony include lithics, net sinkers, nutting stones, projectile points, coin, shells, historic artifacts, pipe fragments, metal and a button. Objects on display at Trailside Museum at Bear Mountain State Park. Exact origins of these objects is unknown but suspected of being from in or around the park. The objects smell strongly of mothballs, other preservation treats conducted on these objects are unknown. The objects recovered from the Nicoll Farm and O'Rourke Farm were excavated from a known Ancestral burial site and were later donated/stored on Iona Island within Bear Mountain State Park. No preservation treatments have been conducted on these to the best of our knowledge.

Determinations

The NYOPRHP has determined that:

• The 50 unassociated funerary objects described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near human remains, and are connected, either at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony of a Native American culture according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization. The unassociated funerary objects have been identified by a preponderance of the evidence as related to human remains, specific individuals, or families, or removed from a specific burial site or burial area of an individual or individuals with cultural affiliation to an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
• The 137 sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony described in this notice are, according to the Native American traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization, specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional Native American religion, and have ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance central to the Native American group, including any constituent sub-group (such as a band, clan, lineage, ceremonial society, or other subdivision).
• There is a connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Delaware Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of Indians; and the Stockbridge Munsee Community, Wisconsin.

Requests for Repatriation

Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this notice under ADDRESSES . Requests for repatriation may be submitted by 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 cultural items in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after September 23, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the NYOPRHP must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the cultural items are considered a single request and not competing requests. The NYOPRHP is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice and to any other consulting parties.

Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.

91 FR 54760