[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 149 (Monday, August 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46707-46708]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16776]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0030584; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Warren Anatomical Museum, Harvard
University, Boston, MA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and Warren
Anatomical Museum, Harvard University, have completed an inventory of
human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, and
have determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human
remains and present-day Indian Tribes. Representatives of any Indian
Tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human
remains may contact the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology,
Harvard University. Repatriation of the human remains to the Indian
Tribes stated below may occur if no additional claimants come forward.
DATES: Representatives of any Indian Tribe that believes it has a
cultural affiliation with the human remains should contact the Peabody
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University at the address
below by September 2, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Patricia Capone, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138,
telephone (617) 496-3702.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25
U.S.C. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains under
the control of the Warren Anatomical Museum, Harvard University,
Boston, MA. The human remains were removed from Dedham, Norfolk County,
MA.
This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native
American human remains. The National Park Service is not responsible
for the determinations in this notice.
Consultation
A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Peabody
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and Warren Anatomical Museum
professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Mashpee
Wampanoag Tribe (previously listed as Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribal
Council, Inc.); Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah); and the Assonet
Band of the Wampanoag Nation, a non-federally recognized Indian group.
History and Description of the Remains
In 1856, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual,
Mr. Alexander Quapish, were removed from Dedham in Norfolk County, MA,
by Dr.
[[Page 46708]]
Henry Jacob Bigelow. Bigelow transferred Mr. Quapish's remains to the
Warren Anatomical Museum. Museum records describe the decedent as
``Qualish, the last of the Indian tribe at Dedham, Mass.; was buried in
1774; aet. 68.'' There is no additional information in museum records
about the context in which these human remains were found. No
associated funerary objects are present.
Museum information shows by a preponderance of the evidence that
the human remains are of the Native American individual Alexander
Quapish, whose name is recorded variously in the historical record, for
example as: Qualish, Quapes, Quapish, Queppish. Primary records and
secondary histories indicate Mr. Quapish and his wife, Sarah David,
were Native Americans living in Dedham. According to a local historian
and to vital records for the Town of Dedham, Massachusetts, Mr. Quapish
was from Yarmouth, Massachusetts, Wampanoag territory. Mr. Quapish may
have moved to Dedham because both Dedham and Yarmouth were associated
with a network of Native American Christianized settlements. Shortly
after Sarah David's death in 1774, Mr. Quapish enlisted in the
Continental Army. Alexander Quapish reportedly died in 1776, at the age
of 34, in Needham, Massachusetts, and may have been buried in Needham
or Natick, rather than Dedham. The possibility of repatriation to
lineal descendants was explored in consultation with Wampanoag
representatives. After consultation and genealogical review, however,
no lineal descendants have been identified.
Osteological examination of the human remains indicates that they
are probably of an adult male and are of Native American ancestry. This
information most closely matches the documented history of Alexander
Quapish. Although some documented elements of his personal history,
including burial in Needham or Natick, death in 1776, and age at death
do not match information in Warren Anatomical Museum records,
historical documentation and osteological examination indicate by a
preponderance of the evidence that this individual is Alexander
Quapish.
Determinations Made by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
and the Warren Anatomical Museum, Harvard University
Officials of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and
the Warren Anatomical Museum, Harvard University have determined that:
Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described
in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of
Native American ancestry.
Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native
American human remains and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (previously
listed as Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council, Inc.) and the
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), Indian Tribes that represent
people of Wampanoag descent.
Additional Requestors and Disposition
Representatives of any Indian Tribe that believes itself to be
culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Patricia
Capone, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard
University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, telephone (617)
496-3702, by September 2, 2020. After that date, if no additional
requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the human remains
to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (previously listed as Mashpee Wampanoag
Indian Tribal Council, Inc.) and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head
(Aquinnah) may proceed.
The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology on behalf of the
Warren Anatomical Museum, Harvard University is responsible for
notifying the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (previously listed as Mashpee
Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council, Inc.); Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head
(Aquinnah); and the Assonet Band of the Wampanoag Nation, a non-
federally recognized Indian group, that this notice has been published.
Dated: July 6, 2020.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2020-16776 Filed 7-31-20; 8:45 am]
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