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 Princeton University, and additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in its inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been identified. The two associated funerary objects are one snuff box and one drum. The human remains were originally acquired by John Green Brady, a Presbyterian missionary and founder of the Sitka Industrial and Training School. Brady gifted the Ancestor to Sheldon Jackson, who confirmed receipt in a letter dated February 2, 1880, referring to them as “the Medicine Man.” Correspondence between Brady and Jackson reveals Brady's efforts in acquiring objects in Sitka on Jackson's behalf. The two associated funerary objects match descriptions in collection records of items that Brady removed from the Ancestor's grave. The Ancestor and associated funerary objects were transferred from Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) to the now-defunct Princeton University Museum of Natural History, known as the “Guyot Museum,” when PTS donated the Sheldon Jackson collection in 1881. Princeton University has no knowledge or record of the presence of any potentially hazardous substances used to treat the human remains or associated funerary objects.

Cultural Affiliation

Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

Princeton University has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
• The two objects described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony.
• There is a connection between the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska.

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this notice under 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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with cultural affiliation.

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after October 9, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, Princeton University 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. Princeton University is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice and any other consulting parties.

Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.

91 FR 57380