[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 180 (Monday, September 16, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48720-48721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23587]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains 
in the Possession of Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site, National 
Park Service, La Junta, CO

AGENCY: National Park Service

ACTION: Notice

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    Notice is hereby given in accordance with provisions of the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 
3003 (d), of the completion of the inventory of human remains in the 
possession of the National Park Service at Bent's Old Fort National 
Historic Site, La Junta, CO
    A detailed inventory and assessment of the human remains has been 
made by professional staff of the National Park Service in consultation 
with representatives of the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe, Alabama and 
Coushatta Tribes, Apache Tribe, Caddo Indian

[[Page 48721]]

Tribe, Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes, Chickasaw Nation , Choctaw Nation, 
Comanche Indian Tribe, Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache Indian Community, 
Fort Sill Apache Business Committee, Jicarilla Apache Tribe, Kickapoo 
Indian Tribe, Kiowa Tribe, Mescalero Apache Tribe, Navajo Nation, 
Pawnee Indian Tribe, San Carlos Apache Tribe, Southern Ute Indian 
Tribe, White Mountain Apache Tribe, Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, and 
the Yavapai-Apache Indian Nation. In addition, a representative of the 
American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions, a non-
federally recognized group, attended consultation meetings. The 
Kickapoo Traditional Tribe, the Ute Mountain Tribe, and the Ysleta del 
Sur Pueblo were invited to consultation but did not attend.
    In 1964, human remains representing two individuals were discovered 
under a room floor during an authorized archeological excavation at the 
fort. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present. Non-destructive analysis identified the two 
individuals as Native American females. The initial archeological 
report dated both burials to pre-1833. However, recent review of the 
evidence dates them more likely to between 1849 and 1881.
    Historic evidence indicates that the remains date to the time when 
the site was part of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Reservation, ca. 1860. 
Surrounding land had been used by the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, 
Comanche, and Ute for hunting and trading since the 1820's or earlier. 
Oral traditions, especially of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, and 
Comanche, mention the area surrounding Bent's Old Fort as their 
homeland during part of their historic migrations. Southern Ute 
representatives identify the Bent's Old Fort area as a point along a 
migratory route used by the Ute tribes prior to the 1900s.
    Based on the above mentioned information, officials of the National 
Park Service have determined that pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(1), the 
human remains listed above represent the physical remains of two 
individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of the National Park 
Service have also determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), 
there is a relationship of shared group identity which can be 
reasonably traced between these Native American human remains and the 
Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes, Comanche Indian Tribe, Kiowa Indian Tribe, 
Southern Ute Indian Tribe, and Ute Mountain Tribe.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Cheyenne-Arapaho 
Tribes, Comanche Indian Tribes, Kiowa Indian Tribe, Southern Ute Indian 
Tribe, and Ute Mountain Tribe. Representatives of any other Indian 
tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with these human 
remains should contact Mr. Donald Hill, Superintendent, Bent's Old Fort 
National Historic Site, 35110 Highway 194 East, La Junta, CO, 81050-
9523, telephone (719) 384-2596, before October 16, 1996. Repatriation 
of the human remains to the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes, Comanche Indian 
Tribe, Kiowa Indian Tribe, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, and Ute Mountain 
Tribe will begin after that date if no additional claimants come 
forward.
Dated: September 10, 1996.
Francis P. McManamon,
Departmental Consulting Archeologist,
Manager, Archeology and Ethnography Program.
[FR Doc. 96-23587 Filed 9-13-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F