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 American Museum of Natural History, 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

One cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one unassociated funerary object is a ceramic smoking pipe with a human face. The item was collected at Lake Champlain, Vermont. The human effigy pipe was donated to the Museum by Andrew Ellicott Douglass in 1901 as part of a vast personal collection of up to 23,000 archaeological items. Museum records indicate that Douglass purchased the item from M.F. Savage, a prominent antiquities dealer who worked for Tiffany & Co. in New York City in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As such, the Museum was unable to find detailed provenience information for the pipe beyond “Lake Champlain, VT.” During consultation, the Stockbridge Munsee Community indicated that pipes of this kind are known to have been included in burials of Mohican ancestors. The longstanding connection between tobacco pipes and funerary rituals in the northeastern United States is well-documented archaeologically, beginning as early as the Late Archaic (ca. 3000-1000 BC).

While it no longer does so, in the past, the Museum applied potentially hazardous pesticides to items in the collections. Museum records do not list specific objects treated or which of several chemicals used were applied to a particular item. Therefore, those handling this material should follow the advice of industrial hygienists or medical personnel with specialized training in occupational health or with potentially hazardous substances.

Determinations

The American Museum of Natural History has determined that:

• The one unassociated funerary object described in this notice is reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near human remains, and is 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 object has 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.
• There is a reasonable connection between the cultural item described in this notice and the Stockbridge Munsee Community, Wisconsin.

Requests for Repatriation

Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural item 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. ( printed page 54752)

Repatriation of the cultural item in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after September 23, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the American Museum of Natural History must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the cultural item are considered a single request and not competing requests. The American Museum of Natural History 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 54751