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 Bruce Museum, Inc., 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 object of cultural patrimony is a Xoots. Naaxein (Brown Bear Chilkat Robe), Bruce Museum number 67.03.04. It is a wide, inverted pentagonal shape, woven of primarily commercial yarns. Black and yellow border; center is mirrored totemic design in black, yellow, turquois, and white; fringed on three sides. Harold Jacobs, of the Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes examined the robe at the Bruce, in 2005, and declared the design to be an orca with a man riding on its back. Jacobs said it was woven by Kaax'eidei.át, who was from the Gaanaxteidi clan of Klukwan, Alaska. She was the only person who wove the colored fringe seen on this piece. The robe was collected by Miss Alice Taggart (1881-1954), aunt of the donor, Eliza Macknet Taggart Davies, aka Mrs. William A. Davies. Based on the objects collected, Miss Taggart likely was in Alaska between 1900-1920. Travel records indicate that she was in Alaska during August and September, 1920.

Determinations

The Bruce Museum, Inc., has determined that:

• The one object of cultural patrimony described in this notice has 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), according to the Native American traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
• There is a connection between the cultural item described in this notice and the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes.

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.

Repatriation of the cultural item in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after November 9, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Bruce Museum, Inc., 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 Bruce Museum, Inc., 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 64392