[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 178 (Monday, September 15, 1997)] [Notices] [Pages 48303-48304] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 97-24375] [[Page 48303]] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains and Associated Funerary Objects from the Illinois counties of La Salle, Madison, Perry, and Randolph in the Possession of the Anthropology Section, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL 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 and associated funerary objects from the Illinois counties of La Salle, Madison, Perry, and Randolph in the Possession of the Anthropology Section, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL. A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Illinois State Museum professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, Ho-Chunk Nation, Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri, Sac & Fox Nation of Oklahoma, Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, Forest County Potawatomi Community, Hannahville Indian Community, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, and Prairie Band of Potawatomi Indians of Kansas. In 1972, human remains representing eight individuals were recovered at Fort de Chartres III (11R127), Randolph County, during archeological excavations conducted by Dr. Margaret Kimball Brown to develop more accurate reconstructions and interpretive programming at this state park. No known individuals were identified. The 9,834 associated funerary objects include one embossed silver arm band, 33 silver brooches, three silver crosses, 80 iron tinkling cones, one iron spear point, three brass bells, three brass necklaces, four copper rings, one bone-handled case knife, and 9,585 glass seed beads. The Fort de Chartres III site is the last of a historically well- documented series of forts established as the seat of French military and civil power in Illinois from 1719 until the final fort was handed over to the British in 1765. This third construction consisted of a substantial stone fortress dating from the mid-1750s. Historical and archeological evidence clearly indicate this fort was also a center of Native American activity. Two contemporary Michigamea villages (Kolmer and Waterman sites) have been documented near this fort. Based on dentition, cranial characteristics, and the associated funerary objects, these individuals have been determined to be Native American. Based on the location of the burials within the fort itself and the European trade goods present, these individuals were likely interred after the British abandonment of the fort in 1772 and prior to 1832, when the remaining tribes in Illinois were removed across the Mississippi River. The Michigamea were members of the Illini confederacy, along with the Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Moingwena, Peoria, and Tamaroa. The present day descendant of the Illini confederacy is the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma. In 1952, human remains representing one individual were recovered from the Guebert site (11R1), Randolph County, during joint archeological excavations by the Illinois State Museum and Southern Illinois University. No known individual was identified. The four associated funerary objects include one lead cross, two fragments of brass or copper, and one fragment of a German silver trigger guard. The Guebert site is an historic village site known in French documents as ``Indian Kaskaskia'' which was occupied between 1719 and about 1765 by Kaskaskia, Michigamea, and Tamaroa people of the Illini confederacy. Based on site context, cranial chartacteristics and the associated funerary objects, this individual has been determined to be Native American and most likely affiliated with the Illini confederacy. The present day descendant of the Illini confederacy is the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma. In 1948, human remains representing one individual were recovered from Feature 5 at the Hotel Plaza site (11LS61), La Salle County, during joint archeological excavations by the Illinois State Museum and the University of Chicago. No known individual was identified. The three associated funerary objects include one chert hammerstone, one sandstone abrader, and one La Salle Filleted pottery sherd. The Hotel Plaza site, located on a floodplain of the Illinois River adjacent to Starved Rock, contains mixed precontact occupations (Archaic and Woodland periods) and features dating into the historic period. Based on cranial characteristics and the associated funerary objects, this individual has been identified as Native American. Feature 5 at the Hotel Plaza site has been identified as an historic feature based on the presence of La Salle Filleted pottery (a postcontact ceramic style) and the location of this burial overlaying and therefore postdating another feature containing historic artifacts. At various times during the late 1600s and early 1700s, this section of the Illinois River valley was occupied by tribes including the Kaskaskia and other Illini groups, the Kickapoo, the Miami, the Missouri, the Piankeshaw, the Shawnee, and the Wea. Historical documents indicate the Peoria occupied Hotel Plaza and Starved Rock from about 1711 to 1720, the most likely date range for this burial and therefore likely affiliated with the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma. In 1993, human remains representing one individual were recovered from the Jamestown site (SIUC 21C4-14), Perry County, during salvage excavations related to the Burning Star #4 surface mine. No known individual was identified. The 65 associated funerary objects include a French brass kettle, a woven mat of native fibers, a French butcher knife, one silver brooch, one brass or copper C-shaped wire bracelet, and two sets of white-tailed deer ribs. Although the Jamestown site has been identified as a Late Woodland occupation site dating between 450-1000 A.D. based on site organization, radiocarbon dates, material culture, and feature morphology, this burial dates from the early to middle eighteenth century based on the grave construction and associated funerary objects. Based on the associated funerary objects, this individual is Native Amerian and may have been contemporary with the Illini occupations of the Guebert and Kolmer sites, and is likely to be Kaskaskia or Michigamea. The Kaskaskia and Michigamea were members of the Illini confederacy whose present day descendant is the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma. Between 1969-1972, human remains representing thirteen individuals were recovered from the River L'Abbe Mission site (11MS2), Madison County, during excavations conducted by Melvin L. Fowler and Elizabeth D. Benchley of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Charles J. Bareis of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. No known individuals were identified. The 6,996 associated funerary objects include one molded lead cross, eight molded lead brooches, eight brass tinkling cones, one brass hawk-bell, one brass Liberty-type bell, iron hardware from a burial chest used as a coffin, two iron clasp-knife blades, five catlinite triangular pendants, 28 marine shell triangular beads, two glass triangular pendants, and 6,723 glass beads. [[Page 48304]] The River L'Abbe Mission site is located on the first terrace of Monks Mound, a large Mississippian temple mound on the Mississippi River floodplain. This occupation was a French colonial mission and an adjoining Cahokia village established in 1735 and abandoned in 1752 after the Cahokia village was attacked by Sauk, Fox, Kickapoo, and Sioux war parties. Based on site context and the associated funerary objects, these individuals are Native American and affiliated with the 1735-1752 Cahokia village occupation. The Cahokia were members of the Illini confederacy whose present day descendant is the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma. Between 1947-1950 and in 1980, human remains representing sixteen individuals were recovered from the Starved Rock site (11LS12), La Salle County, by archeologists of the Illinois State Museum, University of Chicago, Illinois Department of Conservation and Illinois State University. No known individuals were identified. The 2,633 associated funerary objects include twelve brass Jesuit rings, one brass bead, twelve brass tinkling cones, one brass neck circlet, four brass bracelets, two copper coils, one iron knife blade, one gunflint, and 2,491 glass beads. Starved Rock is a prominent landmark on the south bank of the Illinois River occupied for thousands of years by Native Americans. Historical documents indicate Starved Rock was the site of a French fort (1673-1692) and the site of a Peoria occupation (1711-1720). Based on dentition, cranial characteristics, and associated funerary objects, these individuals have been determined to be Native American and are likely to have been Kaskaskia, Peoria, or another of the tribes of the Illini confederacy. The present day descendant of the Illini confederacy is the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma. In 1971, human remains representing 59 individuals were recovered from the Waterman site (11RI122), Randolph County, during excavations conducted by Margaret Kimball Brown of Michigan State University under a grant from the Illinois Department of Conservation. No known individuals were identified. The 13,113 associated funerary objects include six silver bracelets, two silver crosses, two silver gorgets, three silver rings, 28 copper tinkling cones, 26 copper beads, twelve brass bells, one brass cross, one brass bracelet, one faience hair pendant, two Micmac pipe bowls, one kaolin pipe bowl, one mirror, two brandy bottles, 12,705 glass beads, and a small French pistol which dates to the early 1700s. The Waterman site is a historically documented Michigamea village established in 1753 after the destruction of the Michigamea village at the Kolmer site in 1752 in an attack by the Sauk, Fox, Kickapoo, and Sioux. The Waterman village site was abandoned in 1765 when the British took control of Fort de Chartres. Based on dentition, cranial characteristics, and the associated funerary objects, these individuals have been determined to be Native American; and are likely affiliated with the 1753-1765 Michigamea village. The Michigamea were members of the Illini confederacy whose present day descendant is the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma. In 1947, 1992, and 1995, human remains representing 21 individuals were recovered from the Zimmerman site (11LS13), located at the Grand Village of the Illinois State Historic Site, La Salle County, during excavations conducted by the University of Chicago, the Illinois State Museum, and Archaeological Consultants of Normal, IL. No known individuals were identified. The 173 associated funerary objects include three brass tubular beads, twelve brass coiled-wire hair ornaments, one Danner Grooved Paddle pottery vessel, and 92 glass beads. The Zimmerman site is a multicomponent pre- and postcontact village site located on the north bank of the Illinois river opposite Starved Rock. Based on dentition, cranial characteristics, and the associated funerary objects, these individuals have been determined to be Native American. The postcontact component is believed to be the ``Grand Village of the Kaskaskia'' noted in French historic documents and maps beginning in 1673. The principal inhabitants of the village during the late 1600s and early 1700s were the Kaskaskia, Peoria, and other members of the Illini confederacy. The Illini confederacy's present day descendant is the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma. Based on the above mentioned information, officials of the Illinois State Museum have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(1), the human remains listed above represent the physical remains of 120 individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of the Illinois State Museum have also determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(A), the 32,821 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 the death rite or ceremony. Lastly, officials of the Illinois State Museum have 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 associated funerary objects and the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma. This notice has been sent to officials of the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, Ho-Chunk Nation, Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri, Sac & Fox Nation of Oklahoma, Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, Forest County Potawatomi Community, Hannahville Indian Community, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, and Prairie Band of Potawatomi Indians of Kansas. Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with these human remains and associated funerary objects should contact Dr. Robert E. Warren, Associate Curator of Anthropology, Illinois State Museum, 1011 East Ash Street, Springfield, IL 62703; telephone: (217) 524-7903, before [thirty days after publication in the Federal Register]. Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma may begin after that date if no additional claimants come forward. Dated: September 10, 1997. Francis P. McManamon, Departmental Consulting Archeologist, Manager, Archeology and Ethnography Program. [FR Doc. 97-24375 Filed 9-12-97; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-70-F