[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]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F