[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 163 (Tuesday, August 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52015-52016]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-20939]
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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 and associated funerary
objects in the control of the University of Colorado Museum, Boulder,
CO. The human remains were removed from Boulder County, CO.
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
University of Colorado Museum professional staff in consultation with
representatives of the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Arapahoe Tribe of the
Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma;
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South
Dakota; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Crow Tribe of Montana; Fort Sill
Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico; Kiowa
Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero
Reservation, New Mexico; Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern
Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine
Ridge Reservation, South Dakota; Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Rosebud
Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota; Southern Ute
Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; Standing Rock
Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota; Three Affiliated Tribes of the
Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah
& Ouray Reservation, Utah; and Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain
Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah.
On an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of two
individuals were removed from Boulder County, CO, by an unknown
individual. In the early 1990s, the University of Colorado, Boulder
Department of Anthropology transferred them to the Museum for NAGPRA
compliance. No known individuals were identified. The two associated
funerary objects are fragments of historic clothing.
The human remains are Native American based on the decision of the
Department of Anthropology to transfer them to the museum for the
purpose of NAGPRA compliance, the lack of biological evidence to
support a determination the remains are not Native American, and the
collecting history of the Department of Anthropology. The remains date
to the post European contact period based on the associated funerary
objects.
Officials of the University of Colorado Museum have determined
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described above
represent the physical remains of two individuals of Native American
ancestry. Officials of the University of Colorado Museum also have
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the two objects
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. 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 associated funerary
objects 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 and associated funerary objects to the Ute Mountain Tribe
of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah, based on
aboriginal land claims supported by oral tradition, as well as the
support of the other Indian tribes consulted. The Comanche Nation,
Oklahoma, and Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, signed the disposition
agreement in support of the disposition to the tribe requesting
disposition. None
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of the Indian tribes consulted objected to the determination of the
``culturally unidentifiable'' status by the University of Colorado
Museum and the disposition to Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain
Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah.
The Review Committee considered the proposal at its October 30-31,
2009, meeting and recommended disposition of the human remains and
associated funerary objects to the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute
Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah. The Secretary of the
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 individuals to the Ute
Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico &
Utah, contingent on the publication of a Notice of Inventory Completion
in the Federal Register. This notice fulfills that requirement. In the
same letter, the Secretary recommended the transfer of the associated
funerary objects to the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain
Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah, to the extent allowed by
Federal, state, or local law.
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to
be culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary
objects 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 23, 2010. Disposition
of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the Ute
Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico &
Utah, 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; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma; Cheyenne River Sioux
Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Comanche Nation,
Oklahoma; Crow Tribe of Montana; Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma;
Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico; Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma;
Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico;
Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation,
Montana; Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation, South
Dakota; Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud
Reservation, South Dakota; Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern
Ute Reservation, Colorado; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South
Dakota; Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North
Dakota; Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation, Utah; and
Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New
Mexico & Utah, that this notice has been published.
Dated: August 18, 2010.
David Tarler,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2010-20939 Filed 8-23-10; 8:45 am]
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