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 Autry Museum of the American West, 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 one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one unassociated funerary object is a necklace. In 1924, the Southwest Museum of the American Indian (now part of the Autry Museum of the American West) was donated cultural material by Mr. F. A. Insley. The S'eit (necklace) (348.G.10) was collected in Southeast Alaska at an unknown date, most likely collected by the donor himself. Through consultation with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the cultural material has been identified as an unassociated funerary object. Cultural material like this one, are shaman's personal items and therefore would have only been collected from a burial.

A total of two cultural items has been requested for repatriation. The two sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony are one button shirt and one beaded shirt. In 1956, the Southwest Museum purchased the cultural material from Mr. Robert Stolper. Mr. Stolper purchased the cultural material on unknown dates from unknown locations. The Yooka.oot Kudás' (button shirt) (491.P.3327) and Kudás (beaded shirt) (491.P.3328), were identified as being both objects of cultural patrimony ( printed page 61878) and sacred objects through consultation with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska have stated that crest objects, such as these, are sacred objects and are, therefore, essential to the ongoing practice of traditional ceremonial rites.

A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one sacred object/object of cultural patrimony is one Chilkat blanket. In 1958, the Southwest Museum purchased one Naaxein (Chilkat blanket) (491.P.3440) from Mrs. Nettie Clare Lewis. Her husband, Mr. Earl Warren Lewis collected the cultural object circa 18900 from Alaska. Through consultation with Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the cultural material has been identified as both objects of cultural patrimony and as sacred objects. Chilkat blankets are among the most valued ceremonial clothing for the Tlingit and are necessary for the ongoing practice of ceremonial rites. They are also crest objects and, therefore, sacred.

A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one unassociated funerary object is one Chilkat blanket. In 1933, the Southwest Museum was donated cultural material from Mrs. Louis J. Gillespie. Mrs. Gillespie inherited one Naaxein (Chilkat blanket) (611.G.29) from her family, who obtained the cultural material on an unknown date from an unknown location. The cultural material is recorded in the museum files as having come from a chief's grave. Through consultation with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the cultural material has been identified as an unassociated funerary object.

A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one sacred object/object of cultural patrimony is one basket hat. In 1938, the Southwest Museum was donated cultural material from Mr. Homer E. Sargent. Mr. Sargent purchased the cultural material in September 1907 from Mr. F. Matheson. The one S'aaxw Tlein (basket hat) (742.G.125) was collected in Lynn Canal and River Valleys, Alaska. Through consultation with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the cultural material has been identified as being both an object of cultural patrimony and a sacred object. Clan hats are living objects and, therefore, sacred. As such, the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska have stated that it is essential for the ongoing practice of traditional ceremonial rites and activities.

A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one sacred object/object of cultural patrimony is one Chilkat blanket. In 1943, the Southwest Museum was donated cultural material from Mrs. Edward Laurence Doheny. Mr. and Mrs. Doheny most likely purchased the cultural material. One Naaxein (Chilkat blanket) (761.G.33) was collected in Alaska on an unknown date by an unknown collector. Through consultation with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the cultural material has been identified as being both an object of cultural patrimony and a sacred object. Chilkat blankets are among the most valued ceremonial clothing for the Tlingit and are necessary for the ongoing practice of ceremonial rites. They are also crest objects and, therefore, sacred.

A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one sacred object/object of cultural patrimony is one ceremonial crest blanket. In 1945, the Southwest Museum was donated cultural material by Mr. Homer E. Sargent. One Naaxein (child sized blanket) (778.G.67) with ceremonial crest symbols, which was made by Mary Ebbetts Hunt (Tlingit) at an unknown year. It is unknown when or where Mr. Homer E. Sargent got ahold of the blanket. Through consultation with the Ketchikan Indian Community and the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the cultural material has been identified as being both an object of cultural patrimony and a sacred object. The Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska have stated the crest objects, such as this blanket, are sacred objects and are, therefore, essential to the ongoing practice of traditional ceremonial rites.

A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one unassociated funerary object is one grave board. In 1938, the Southwest Museum was donated cultural material by Mrs. Lucretta Cole Waring. The cultural material first came into the museum as a loan and then became a donation six months later. The cultural material, one Káa daakeidi (grave board) (784.G.1), was collected by the donors deceased brother, Mr. George Townsend, on an unknown date on the Northwest Coast. Museum records already listed this cultural object as an unassociated funerary object. Through consultation with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the cultural object was confirmed as being an unassociated funerary object.

A total of 14 cultural items has been requested for repatriation. The 14 unassociated funerary objects are one dance apron, one dance poncho, one basket hats, two basket wallets, two masks, one dance club, one rattle, one dance sash, one headdress, one spoon, one faunal tooth, and one club. In 1945, the Southwest Museum, Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees member Mr. Harvey S. Mudd, purchased cultural objects from Mr. C. Colcock Jones. Mr. Jones, an engineer, purchased the cultural objects in 1909 from a Native American elder who had gotten it from a chief who had died at a salmon cannery in a fiord just after passing through Icy Straits, Alaska. The cultural materials are unassociated funerary objects as they are personal objects collected from the deceased chief: one K'ideit (dance apron) (981.G.3/3.C.4), one Kudás' (dance poncho) (981.G.4), one basket hat (981.G.5), two basket wallets (981.G.6; 981.G.7), two masks (981.G.8; 981.G.9/3.C.4), one dance club (981.G.10), one rattle (981.G.11), one Koogina (dance sash) (981.G.15), one Shádaa kees (headdress) (981.G.16), one spoon (981.G.19), one faunal tooth (981.G.28), and one club (981.G.29). The cultural objects are recorded in museum files as having come from a chief's grave. Through consultation with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Tribes of Alaska, these 14 cultural materials have been identified as unassociated funerary objects.

A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one sacred object/object of cultural patrimony is one Chilkat blanket. In 1964, the Southwest Museum was donated cultural material from Mrs. Gladys K. Irvine. Her mother, Sylvia Knowlton, was the daughter of Sarah Elizabeth Hunt and Abaelino D. Hunt. Mr. Hunt was a distant relative of Mary Ebbetts Hunt, who made the Naaxein (Chilkat blanket) (1919.G.1) on an unknown date. Mrs. Irvine oversaw her mother's estate when she died in 1964 and donated the cultural material to the museum in the same year. Through consultation with the Ketchikan Indian Community and the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, this cultural material has been identified as being both an object of cultural patrimony and a sacred object. Chilkat blankets are among the most valved ceremonial clothing for the Tlingit and are necessary for the ongoing practice of ceremonial rites. There are also crest objects and, therefore, sacred. ( printed page 61879)

A total of two cultural items has been requested for repatriation. The two sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony are one beaded shirt and one belt. In 1968, the Southwest Museum was donated cultural material by Mrs. Helen H. Pierce. It is unknown who collected or where the one Kudás (beaded shirt) (1931.G.22A) and belt (1931.G.22B) were collected from. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska have stated that crest objects, such as these, are sacred objects and are, therefore, essential to the ongoing practice of traditional ceremonial rites. Through consultation with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, these cultural objects have been identified as being both objects of cultural patrimony and sacred objects.

A total of four cultural items has been requested for repatriation. The three sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony are one headdress frontlet, one dagger, and one “Slave Killer” club; and the one unassociated funerary object is an oyster catcher rattle. In 1983, the Southwest Museum purchased cultural materials from Mr. George Terasaki of Sotheby Parke Bernet Auction House in New York City. The cultural materials are one Shákee.át (headdress frontlet) (1983.P.10.1) and one Gwálaa (dagger) (1983.P.10.3A). Both cultural materials were collected from Sitka, Baranof Island, Alexander Archipelago in Alaska at an unknown date by an unknown collector. The Tlingit and Haida Tribes of Alaska have stated that they are essential for the ongoing practice of traditional ceremonial rites and activities. Additionally, one Sheishoox (oyster catcher rattle) (1983.P.16.3) was collected by an unknown person at an unknown date, probably Alaska or Pacific Northwest Coast. Furthermore, one Goox Du Een ( “Slave Killer” club) (1983.P.16.1A) was collected in Alaska by an unknown person at an unknown date. This cultural object has been purchased multiple times, with the earliest known recorded collector being Mr. Jones, an antique dealer in Bath. He bought the object circa 1895 at the Philadelphia Exhibition. It was then found in his cellar in Bath by Alban Head Esq. at Easter in 1925, who bought the cultural object. It then somehow made its way to Mr. H.G. Beasley of England, and then to Ms. Katherine White of Seattle, Washington. Through consultation with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the Shákee.át (headdress frontlet) (1983.P.10.1), Gwálaa (dagger) (1983.P.10.3A), and Goox Du Een ( “Slave Killer” club) (1983.P.16.1A) have been identified as being both objects of cultural patrimony and sacred objects, while the Sheishoox (oyster catcher rattle) (1983.P.16.3) has been identified as an unassociated funerary object. Cultural objects, such as the Shákee.át (headdress frontlet) (1983.P.10.1), Gwálaa (dagger) (1983.P.10.3A), and Goox Du Een ( “Slave Killer” club) (1983.P.16.1A) are living objects and, therefore, sacred. The Tlingit and Haida Tribes of Alaska have stated that they are essential for the ongoing practice of traditional ceremonial rites and activities. The Sheishoox (oyster catcher rattle) (1983.P.16.3) has been identified by Tlingit representatives as a shaman's object, which is a personal object that would have only been collected from a burial.

A total of one cultural item has been requested for repatriation. The one sacred object/object of cultural patrimony is one button blanket. The cultural material was found in collections with no object number or label to provenience. Efforts have been made to determine the original accession number, but staff have been unsuccessful. No information is known about the collector, place collected, or how it entered the Southwest Museum. Through consultation with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, one Yooka oot X'oow (button blanket) (8.C.3) has been identified as both an object of cultural patrimony and a sacred object. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska have stated that crest objects, such as button blankets, are sacred objects and are, therefore, essential to the ongoing practice of traditional ceremonial rites.

There is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the unassociated funerary objects and sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony through oral tradition and historic evidence to the Tlingit and Haida people. Through consultation, objects were identified as both sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska have stated that “Crest objects such as the objects claimed in this claim are recognized by Tlingit as sacred objects.” These sacred objects are essential to the practice of ceremonial rites and have ongoing historical, traditional, and cultural importance central to the Tlingit society and culture. Objects were also identified as unassociated funerary objects, either through museum records or there were identified as personal items by the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. Objects are currently being tested for potentially hazardous substances. Through consultation, the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska stated cultural affiliation to the cultural materials.

Determinations

The Autry Museum of the American West has determined that:

• The 18 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 13 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 Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes; Ketchikan Indian Community; and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska.

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. ( printed page 61880)

Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after October 30, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Autry Museum of the American West 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 Autry Museum of the American West 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 61877