Notice of Intended Repatriation: Field Museum, Chicago, IL

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Field Museum intends to repatriate a certain cultural item that meets the definition of a sacred object and object of cultural patrimony and that has a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES:

Repatriation of the cultural item in this notice may occur on or after July 31, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

June Carpenter, NAGPRA Director, Field Museum, 1400 S Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, telephone (312) 665-7820, email jcarpenter@fieldmuseum.org.

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 Field Museum, 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 sacred object/object of cultural patrimony is a wooden bowl (represented by Field Museum catalog number 155620). The bowl was removed from the Winnebago Reservation by Oliver LaMere. LaMere sold the bowl to the Museum on October 2, 1926, as part of a larger collection. Museum documentation shows that the bowl was treated with both CTED and “MothOff” periodically while on display. Staff believe CTED is likely a mixture of carbon tetrachloride and ethylene dichloride, and that MothOff may have been a proprietary mixture containing paradichlorobenzene. Neither is believed to be present on the bowl today.

Determinations

The Field Museum has determined that:

• The one sacred object/object of cultural patrimony described in this notice is, according to the Native American traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization, a specific ceremonial object needed by a traditional Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice traditional Native American religion, and 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).
• There is a reasonable connection between the cultural items described in this notice and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.

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 July 31, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Field Museum 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 Field Museum 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.