[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 148 (Tuesday, August 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45655-45656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-19004]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Colorado Museum,
Boulder, CO
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 in the control of the
University of Colorado Museum, Boulder, CO. The human remains were
removed from Converse County, WY.
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.
A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the
University of Colorado Museum professional staff in consultation with
representatives of the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Arapahoe Tribe of the
Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the
Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes,
Oklahoma; Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation,
South Dakota; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Crow Tribe of Montana; Crow
Creek Sioux Tribe of the Crow Creek Reservation, South Dakota;
Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; Kiowa Indian Tribe of
Oklahoma; Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation, South
Dakota; Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian
Reservation, Montana; Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation,
South Dakota; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation,
South Dakota; Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraska; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
of North & South Dakota; Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold
Reservation, North Dakota; and Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.
In 1948, 1949, 1952, 1956, or 1963, human remains representing a
minimum of one individual were removed from a cave at Little Box Elder
Site, in Converse County, WY. The human remains were removed by either
a museum archeological crew, which excavated the site in 1948 (test),
1949, 1952, and 1956, or by Dr. Robinson, Paleontology Curator
Emeritus, who excavated stratigraphically at the site in 1963. The
property is private and belonged to Orsa D. Ferguson who passed away in
the 1950s, and then it belonged to his brother-in-law, William Barber.
The human remains were found in the Paleontology section of the museum
during re-analysis and transferred to the Anthropology section of the
museum for NAGPRA compliance. No known individual was identified. No
associated funerary objects are present.
The human remains are Native American based on the biological
assessment and the site context. The cave dates from recent time to
15,000 years before present. Evidence of human occupation was present
in the upper levels. The earliest levels contained a ``nest'' of three
spherical stones of material foreign to the cave deposits, suggesting
the possibility of human occupation at that time. During preliminary
re-study of material from the cave, two tools were identified. Both
were made from elements of extinct horse (Equus conversidens). The site
also yielded several tools made from mountain goat humeri and
metapodial. Although not extinct, mountain goat is no longer present in
the region of Little Box Elder.
Officials of the University of Colorado Museum have determined
that,
[[Page 45656]]
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described above
represent the physical remains of one individual of Native American
ancestry. Lastly, officials of the University of Colorado Museum have
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), a relationship of
shared group identity cannot reasonably be traced between the Native
American human remains and any present-day Indian tribe.
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review
Committee (Review Committee) is responsible for recommending specific
actions for disposition of culturally unidentifiable human remains. In
October 2009, the University of Colorado Museum requested that the
Review Committee recommend disposition of the culturally unidentifiable
human remains to the Arapahoe Tribe of the Wind River Reservation,
Wyoming, based on Arapaho aboriginal land claims and supported by oral
tradition, as well as the support of the other Indian tribes consulted.
The Comanche Nation, Oklahoma, signed the disposition agreement in
support of the disposition to the Arapahoe Tribe. Furthermore, none of
the Indian tribes consulted objected to the determination of
``culturally unidentifiable'' status by the University of Colorado
Museum and the disposition to the Arapahoe Tribe of the Wind River
Reservation, Wyoming.
The Review Committee considered the proposal at its October 30-31,
2009, meeting and recommended disposition of the human remains to the
Arapahoe Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming. The Secretary of
Interior agreed with the Review Committee's recommendation. An April
19, 2010, letter from the Designated Federal Officer, writing on behalf
of the Secretary of the Interior, transmitted the authorization for the
University of Colorado Museum to effect disposition of the physical
remains of the culturally unidentifiable individual to the Arapahoe
Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming, contingent on the
publication of a Notice of Inventory Completion in the Federal
Register. This notice fulfills that requirement.
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Steve
Lekson, Curator of Anthropology, University of Colorado Museum, in care
of Jan Bernstein, NAGPRA Consultant, Bernstein & Associates, 1041
Lafayette St., Denver, CO 80218, telephone (303) 894-0648, before
September 2, 2010. Disposition of the human remains to the Arapahoe
Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming, may proceed after that
date if no additional claimants come forward.
The University of Colorado Museum is responsible for notifying the
Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Arapahoe Tribe of the Wind River Reservation,
Wyoming; Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian
Reservation, Montana; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma; Cheyenne
River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota;
Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Crow Tribe of Montana; Crow Creek Sioux
Tribe of the Crow Creek Reservation, South Dakota; Flandreau Santee
Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; Lower
Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation, South Dakota;
Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation,
Montana; Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation, South
Dakota; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South
Dakota; Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraska; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of
North & South Dakota; Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold
Reservation, North Dakota; and Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota,
that this notice has been published.
Dated: July 26, 2010
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2010-19004 Filed 8-2-10; 8:45 am]
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