[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 188 (Thursday, September 26, 1996)] [Notices] [Page 50505] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 96-24686] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains in the Possession of Chickasaw National Recreation Area, National Park Service, Sulphur, OK AGENCY: National Park Service ACTION: Notice ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 an inventory of human remains in the possession of the National Park Service, Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Sulphur, OK. A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by National Park Service professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Caddo Indian Tribe, Pawnee Indian Tribe, and Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. In 1942, human remains representing one adult male was donated to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area by H.R. Antle, an amateur archeologist in Oklahoma. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The remains, a cranium, were recovered from a site approximately 35 miles northeast of park boundaries and located near the banks of the Big Sandy River. In 1958, human remains representing one adult male was donated to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area by O.K. Lowrance, a local rancher. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The remains, a cranium, were recovered from a site near State Site 34MR10, located near Lowrance Springs and approximately 10 miles south of park boundaries. Documentation of the context of these remains is incomplete. However, archeological examination of the remains dates the occupation of the sites to ca. 800-1500 AD. Anthropological evidence indicates that Caddoan language-family groups were present in the area of these sites during the pre-contact period, making the Caddo and the Wichita likely affiliates. Additionally, the Caddo and Pawnee were documented as being in the area by the 1500s and the Wichita confederacy by the beginning of the 1700s. Presently, the Wichita claim the entire area surrounding the sites as their ancestral homeland. 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 trace between these Native American human remains and the Caddo Indian Tribe, Pawnee Indian Tribe, and Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. This notice has been sent to officials of the Caddo Indian Tribe, Pawnee Indian Tribe, and Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with these human remains should contact John Welch, Superintendent, Chickasaw National Recreation Area, P.O. Box 201, Sulphur, OK 73086; telephone: (405) 622-3161, before October 28, 1996. Repatriation of the human remains to the Caddo Indian Tribe, Pawnee Indian Tribe, and Wichita and Affiliated Tribes may begin after that date if no additional claimants come forward. Dated: September 20, 1996. Francis P. McManamon, Departmental Consulting Archeologist Manager, Archeology and Ethnography Program. [FR Doc. 96-24686 Filed 9-25-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-70-F