[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 92 (Thursday, May 13, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26988-26990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-11456]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Defense, Army
Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, Walla Walla, WA and Museum of
Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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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 and associated funerary
objects in the control of the U.S. Department of Defense, Army Corps of
Engineers, Walla Walla District, Walla Walla, WA, and in the physical
custody of the Museum of Anthropology, Washington State University,
Pullman, WA. The human remains and associated funerary objects were
removed from site 45FR50, Marmes Rockshelter, Franklin County, WA.
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 and associated funerary objects. The National
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the U.S.
Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers professional staff in
consultation with representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the
Colville Reservation, Washington; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation, Oregon; Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama
Nation, Washington; Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho; and the Wanapum Band, a
non-Federally recognized Indian group.
[[Page 26989]]
Between 1962 and 1968, human remains were removed from site 45FR50,
Marmes Rockshelter, in Franklin County, WA, by Washington State
University, first under contract with the National Park Service and
then under contract with the Army Corps of Engineers. The earliest
excavations (1962-1964) focused on the area within the rockshelter
proper with specific emphasis placed on the excavation of human remains
features within that area. From 1965 to 1968, efforts focused on
excavation of the floodplain and the remaining areas within the
rockshelter, including a cremation hearth.
The human remains and associated funerary objects from the earliest
excavations were designated as Burials 1 to 12, Burials 14 to 22, Small
Unnumbered Cast, Rice Burial 05, MCX 1, Feature 64-6, and non-cremation
rockshelter remains. No known individuals were identified. These human
remains totaled a minimum of 45 individuals and 2,047 associated
funerary objects (2,020 counted items and 27 lots of items), which were
described in a Notice of Inventory Completion in the Federal Register
(70 FR 42100-42102, August 20, 2009), and repatriated to the claimant
tribes in September 2009.
Human remains from the cremation hearth were originally recorded as
Burial 23 and the human remains from the floodplain were originally
recorded as Marmes I, II, III, and IV. Army Corps of Engineers
professional staff have determined that human remains representing a
minimum of eight individuals were excavated from the cremation hearth
area (to include all remains designated as Burial 23 and/or within the
boundaries of the defined cremation hearth provenience), and that human
remains representing a minimum of four individuals were excavated from
the floodplain (to include all remains designated as Marmes I to IV
and/or from a floodplain provenience). No known individuals were
identified. The associated funerary objects from the cremation area
total 1,581 counted items and 78 lots or samples of weighed items
(98,125 grams). The 1,581 counted items are 78 faunal bone fragments,
1,326 pieces of mammal bone, 9 fish bones, 5 pieces of bird bone, 114
pieces of charcoal, 5 olivella shell beads, 43 basalt and
cryptocrystalline/chert tools, and 1 piece of fire cracked rock. The 78
lots or samples are 43 weighed lots of mammal bone (2,564 grams), 2
lots weighed fish bone (0.003 grams), 2 bags with ash residue (15,150
grams), and 31 charcoal samples (80,411 grams). The 26 associated
funerary objects from the floodplain area are 23 animal bone fragments
and 3 bone rods.
In addition to the human remains removed from the cremation hearth
and floodplain, a total of 513 counted human fragments and 1 small bag
of human bone fragments are located in the Washington University 45FR50
archeological collections for which there is no specific burial or
provenience information; therefore, these materials have been
designated unprovenienced remains. The Army Corps of Engineers has
determined that the unprovenienced human remains originated from the
individuals described in the Notice of Inventory Completion published
on August 20, 2009, or are those within the cremation hearth and from
the floodplain described in this Notice. Therefore, these human bone
fragments do not increase the minimum number of individuals in the
August 20, 2009, Notice nor those recorded as cremation or floodplain
in this Notice. Also in the Washington University 45FR50 archeological
collections are 39 associated funerary objects found directly with
these human remains. The 39 associated funerary objects are animal bone
fragments.
The human remains from the cremation hearth, the floodplain, and
the undesignated remains were determined to be Native American because
of the physical traits exhibited by the remains and the cultural items
found with them, which are similar both to the materials found in other
areas of the site from which Native American human remains were
identified and to materials from archeological collections and in
context with Native American burials and cremations in southeastern
Washington. The archeological materials at site 45FR50 have been
variously classified into chronological and cultural phases, and
include the Windust Phase (+11,000-8000 BP), Cascade Phase (8000-4500
BP), Tucannon Phase (4500-2500 BP), and Harder Phase (2500-500 BP). The
floodplain and cremation remains date from the earliest period, or the
Windust Phase. The majority of the human remains from the rockshelter
described in the Notice of August 20, 2009, date to the later phases,
beginning with the Cascade.
Archeological evidence provides the most direct line of evidence
supporting affiliation between an earlier group and a present-day
Indian tribe. The evidence found at site 45FR50, and in nearby
archeological sites, supports a nearly continuous occupation of this
region of the Columbia Plateau beginning as far back as 11,500 years.
The archeological assemblage of site 45FR50 represents a long sequence
of cultural occupation. Archeological and geological connections at the
site can be drawn both horizontally across the site, from the
rockshelter to the floodplain and across the floodplain, and also
vertically, from the earlier deposits to the later deposits. Cultural
continuity from the earliest to latest occupations within the site can
be traced through the changes in the use of subsistence resources
(marine and other) and the gradual changes in lithic assemblages.
Geographical and anthropological lines of evidence support the
archeological evidence of earlier group habitation in the same
geographic location as the historic groups. Anthropologically, evidence
for continuity includes the presence of red ochre and olivella shells
in the earliest Windust deposits, continuing into later deposits and
found in the later burials. An articulated owl foot artifact was
recovered from the Windust Phase in the floodplain, and the importance
of the owl in southern Plateau Native American culture is well-
documented. Oral tradition evidence provided by tribal elders indicates
a large Palus village, which had been inhabited by tribal ancestors
from time immemorial, was once located near the Marmes Rockshelter.
According to tribal elders, their ancestors were mobile and traveled
the landscape to gather resources, as well as to trade.
Ethnographic documentation indicates that the present-day location
of the Marmes Rockshelter in Franklin County, WA, is within the
territory occupied historically by the Palus (Palouse) Indians. During
the historic period, the Palouse people settled along the Snake River;
relied on fish, game, and root resources for subsistence; shared their
resource areas and maintained extensive kinship connections with other
groups in the area; and had limited political integration until the
adoption of the horse (Walker 1998). These characteristics are common
to the greater Plateau cultural communities surrounding the Palouse
territory including the Nez Perce, Cayuse, Walla Walla, Yakama, and
Wanapum groups. Moreover, information provided during consultation by
representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation,
Washington; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation,
Oregon; Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Washington;
Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho; and the Wanapum Band, a non-Federally
recognized Indian group, substantiate shared past and present
[[Page 26990]]
traditional lifeways that bind the aforementioned Indian tribes and the
Wanapum Band to common ancestors. The descendants of these Plateau
communities of southeastern Washington are now widely dispersed and are
members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation,
Washington; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation,
Oregon; Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Washington;
Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho; and the Wanapum Band, a non-Federally
recognized Indian group.
Officials of the U.S. Department of Defense, Army Corps of
Engineers, Walla Walla District, have determined that, pursuant to 25
U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described above represent the
physical remains of 12 individuals of Native American ancestry.
Officials of the U.S. Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers,
Walla Walla District, also have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C.
3001(3)(A), the 1,724 objects, which are 1,646 individual objects and
98,125 grams of material in 78 lots or samples, described above are
reasonably believed to have been placed with or near individual human
remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or
ceremony. Furthermore, officials of the U.S. Department of Defense,
Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, have determined that,
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 associated funerary objects and the Confederated
Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Washington; Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Oregon; Confederated Tribes and Bands
of the Yakama Nation, Washington; and Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho. Lastly,
officials of the U.S. Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers,
Walla Walla District, have determined that there is a cultural
relationship between the Native American human remains and associated
funerary objects and the Wanapum Band, a non-Federally recognized
Indian group.
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to
be culturally affiliated with the human remains and/or associated
funerary objects should contact LTC Michael Farrell, U.S. Department of
Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, 201 North Third
Ave., Walla Walla, WA 99362-1876, telephone (509) 527-7700, before June
14, 2010. Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation,
Washington; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation,
Oregon; Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Washington;
and Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho, may proceed after that date if no
additional claimants come forward. The U.S. Department of Defense, Army
Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District recognizes the participation
of the Wanapum Band, a non-Federally recognized Indian group, during
the transfer of the human remains and associated funerary objects to
the Indian tribes.
The U.S. Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, Walla
Walla District, is responsible for notifying the Confederated Tribes of
the Colville Reservation, Washington; Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation, Oregon; Confederated Tribes and Bands of
the Yakama Nation, Washington; Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho; and the Wanapum
Band, a non-Federally recognized Indian group, that this notice has
been published.
Dated: May 4, 2010.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2010-11456 Filed 5-12-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-S