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 LMA 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 220 lots (approx. 55,062) of cultural items have been requested for repatriation.

The 60 lots of unassociated funerary objects were removed from the Buyea, ( printed page 72891) Cameron (Ond-8), Chittenango Falls, Diable, Dungey (Msv-6), Goff, Lanz-Hogan, Marshall (Msv-7), Nichols Pond, Olcott, Spear (#49), Sullivan (Ond-3), Thurston (Msv-1), Upper Hogan, Vaillancourt archaeological sites in Madison and Oneida Counties, New York. The types of items include worked antler, bone combs, faunal bone awls, mammal teeth, bone beads, bone figurines, faunal bone fragments, calcified mammal bone fragments, charcoal, chert flakes, pot sherds, glass beads, shell ornaments, wampum, lithics, metal tools, metal buckles, rings, nutshells, and plant materials. The collectors and donors include Herbert Bigford Sr. (Purchased:1959), Walter Bennett (Donated:1965), Gordon Ginther (Donated:1998), Dr. John Munro Longyear III (Unknown collection date), Elizabeth and Jerome Wayland-Smith (Donated: 1983), Theodore Whitney (Donated: 1980), and Jordan Kerber (Collected: 2006-2007).

The seven lots of sacred objects were removed from the Buyea, Diable, Eaton, Nichols Pond, Olcott, Spear, Stone Quarry (formerly Frost Quarry, Msv-4), Sullivan (Ond-3), Upper Hogan, Valliancourt and Wilson archaeological sites in Chenango and Madison counties, New York. The types of items include bone effigy, clay effigy faces, effigy pipe, pipes, pipe bowls, pipe stems, pipe fragments, and pot sherds. The collectors and donors include Herbert Bigford Sr. (Purchased:1959), Walter Bennett (Donated:1965), and Gordon Ginther (Donated:1998).

The 153 lots of objects of cultural patrimony were removed from the Alfalfa, Bach, Beecher, Buyea, Casey, Castle Hill, Chesbro #2 (Nine Mile Swamp), Clark and Wilcox, Crain Lake, Diable, Eager Beaver, Earlville, Eaton, Estes, Goff, Jamba, Jenne, Jenne #2, Lamb, Lamb Gravel, Leland's Pond, Marshall, Meads Pond, Mulligan's Onion Farm, Nichols Pond, Norwich Airport, Nower, Oclott, Poolville, Poolville Lake, Primes Hill, Sacco, Sangerfield, Schapiro, Siloam, Spear (#49), Stewart-Fuller, Stone Quarry, Sullivan, Upper Hogan, Valliancourt, White, Wilcox, Wilson, and Zimmer archaeological sites from Chenango, Madison, and Oneida counties, New York. The collectors and donors include Mortimer Cooley Howe (Donated: 1947), Herbert Bigford Sr. (Purchased:1959), Walter Bennett (Donated:1965), Gordon Ginther (Donated:1998), Dr. John Munro Longyear III (Unknown collection date), Elizabeth and Jerome Wayland-Smith (Donated: 1983), Theodore Whitney (Donated: 1980), Reginald Bigford (Purchased: 2009), and Jordan Kerber (Collected: 1991-1996). The types of items include worked antler, worked faunal bone tools, faunal bone fragments, carbonized corn, charcoal, clag, brass pendants, chert flakes, beads, nails, kaolin pipe fragments, metal tools, metal jewelry, gun parts, nutshell, seeds, potsherds, shell discs, soil samples, float, lithics, and stone tools. The LMA staff continues to look for items from these sites and collections that are identified as missing in the museums database, any items discovered will be included in this notice. There is no evidence of any potentially hazardous substances used to treat any of the cultural items.

Additional information: All Ancestors and associated funerary objects previously identified from these sites were repatriated to the Oneida Indian Nation in 2003, 2020, 2022, and 2024 (see Notice of Inventory Completion published in Federal Register on December 1, 2003 (03-29772); Notice of Inventory Completion published in Federal Register on April 20, 2020 (2020-08326); Notice of Intended Repatriation published in Federal Register on August 3, 2022 (2022-16568); Notice of Inventory Completion published in the Federal Register on March 8, 2024 (2024-04981) and May 13, 2024 (2024-10332)). The remaining items included in this notice were not repatriated, as they were believed to not be subject to NAGPRA at the time. New evidence and determinations have qualified these items to be repatriated under NAGPRA.

Determinations

The LMA has determined that:

• The 60 lots of 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 seven lots of sacred objects described in this notice are specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional Native American religion, according to the Native American traditional knowledge of a lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization.
• The 153 lots of objects of cultural patrimony described in this notice 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), according to the Native American traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
• There is a connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Oneida Indian Nation.

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 December 14, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the LMA 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 LMA 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 72890