[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 21 (Wednesday, January 31, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3459-3460]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-1827]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Inventory Completion of Native American Human Remains
and Associated Funerary Objects From Spring Lake, Utah Under the
Control of the Unita National Forest, United States Forest Service and
Currently in the Possession of the Museum of Peoples and Cultures,
Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
AGENCY: National Park Service
ACTION: Notice
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Notice is hereby given in accordance with the provisions of the
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003
(d), of the completion of an inventory of human remains and associated
funerary objects under the control of the Unita National Forest, United
States Forest Service, and currently in the possession of the Museum of
Peoples and Cultures, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT.
A detailed inventory and assessment of the human remains and
associated funerary objects was done by the U.S. Forest Service and the
Museum of Peoples and Cultures's professional staff in consultation
with representatives of the Unitah-Ouray Ute Tribe.
The human remains--an adult male approximately 45-60 years old--and
a minimum of 13,558 associated objects were reportedly excavated by
local miners in 1917 from Forest Service lands above Spring Lake, UT.
The objects found with the remains include brass bells, an iron spur,
approximately 13,500 multi-colored glass seed beads, a metal axe head,
bridle rosettes, a metal bit, and copper bracelets.
The human remains and associated objects were accessions by the
Museum of Latter-Day Saints Church History in 1919. At that time, a
local physician attempted to confirm a report that the human remains
were those of the Timpanogots' chief Black Hawk who had died in 1870
and had been buried in the same approximate location. The physician
collected statements from Chana E. Hales, William E. Croft, Louise N.
Pace, and Ben H. Bullock who had known Black Hawk. These individuals
identified many of the objects as Black Hawk's personal effects.
The human remains and associated objects were curated by the Museum
of Latter-Day Saints Church History until 1994, when they were
tranferred to the Museum of Peoples and Cultures for purposes of
inventory and repatriation. Osteological analysis confirmed the human
remains to be of a 45-60 year old male. Although Black Hawk's exact age
was unknown, reports from the era estimate his age as being in his
fifties at the time of his death. Many of the associated objects were
identified by representatives of the Unitah-Ouray Ute tribe as being
common in late nineteenth century Ute burials. No evidence contradicts
the identification of the human remains as those of Black Hawk.
Mr. Richard Mountain, Ms. Arlene Appah, and Ms. Silvia Cornpeach,
great-great grandchildren of Black Hawk's brother Mountain, have
claimed Black Hawk's remains and funerary objects on the basis of
lineal descent. On November 20, 1995, the Unitah-Ouray Ute Tribal
Business Committee passed a formal resolution recognizing their claim
and its consistency with Ute tribal kinship practice.
Based on the above mentioned information, officials of United
States Forest Service have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2
(d)(1), the human remains listed above represent the physical remains
of Black Hawk, an individual of Native American ancestry. Museum
officials have also determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(A),
the 13,558 objects listed above are reasonably believed to have been
placed with or near individual human remains at the time of death or
later as part of
[[Page 3460]]
the death rite or ceremony. Lastly, U.S. Forest Service officials have
determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (b)(1), Mr. Richard Mountain,
Ms. Arlene Appah, and Ms. Silvia Cornpeach can trace their ancestry
directly and without interruption by means of the traditional kinship
system of the Unitah-Ouray Ute tribe to the remains and associated
funerary objects of Black Hawk.
This notice has been sent to Mr. Richard Mountain, Ms. Arlene
Appah, Ms. Silvia Cornpeach, and officials of the Unitah-Ouray Ute
Tribe, the Skull Valley Executive Committee, the Southern Ute Tribe,
the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, the Goshute Indian Tribe, the Paiute Tribe
of Utah, and the Kaibab Paiute Tribe of Arizona. Any other individuals
that believe themselves to be lineal descendants of Black Hawk should
contact Ms. Charmaine Thompson, Heritage Program Leader, Unita National
Forest, United States Forest Service, 88 West 100 North, Provo, UT
84601, telephone: (801) 342-5119, before March 1, 1996. Repatriation of
these human remains and associated funerary objects to Mr. Richard
Mountain, Ms. Arlene Appah, Ms. Silvia Cornpeach, may begin after that
date if no additional claimants come forward.
Dated: January 25, 1996.
Francis P. McManamon,
Departmental Consulting Archeologist
Chief, Archeology and Ethnography Program.
[FR Doc. 96-1827; Filed 1-30-96; 8:45 am]
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