[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 70 (Monday, April 13, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18034-18035]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-9661]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains 
and Associated Funerary Objects from Kuiu Island, AK in the Control of 
Tongass National Forest, USDA Forest Service, Petersburg, AK

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice is hereby given in accordance with provisions of the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 43 CFR 10.9, 
of the completion of an inventory of human remains and associated 
funerary objects in the control of Tongass National Forest, USDA Forest 
Service, Petersburg, AK.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by USDA Forest 
Service professional staff in consultation with representatives of the 
Organized Village of Kake and the Klawock Cooperative Association.
    In 1949, human remains representing one individual were illegally 
removed from the southwest coast of Kuiu Island in the vicinity of Port 
Malmesbury by J. Art Robin. In 1954, the USDA Forest Service 
confiscated these remains and they have been curated at the University 
of Alaska Museum since that time. No known individual was identified. 
The five associated funerary objects include a bentwood burial box, two 
fur blankets, a spruce bark blanket, and moss.
    Although the exact location from which these human remains were 
removed is unknown, it is likely the box is associated with the Port 
Malmesbury Caves site.
    In 1949, human remains representing one individual were illegally 
removed from Kuiu Island at Port Malmesbury by William T. Vickers. In 
1977, the USDA Forest Service law enforcement confiscated these human 
remains and they have been curated at the University of Alaska Museum 
since that time. No known individual was identified. The eight 
associated funerary objects include a bentwood cedar burial box, a 
woven cedar bark mat, a large piece of tanned hide, a leather hood, an 
ochre-stained leather bag containing powdered orchre, a woven cedar 
bark bag, remnants of a fur cap, and braided black fur and rope with 
eagle feathers. Authorities of the United States Fish and Wildlife 
Service have been contacted regarding applicability of Federal 
endangered species statutes to this transfer and will issue the 
appropriate permits for transfer to the culturally affiliated Native 
American tribes.
    In 1954, human remains representing four individuals were collected 
without a permit from the surface of a disturbed cave site at Saginaw 
Bay, Kuiu Island by an unknown person. These human remains were 
deposited in the University of Alaska Museum at an unknown date and 
under unknown circumstances. No known individuals were identified. The 
four associated funerary objects include three copper buttons and 
faunal material.
    Based on the associated funerary objects, manner of interments, and 
the probable locations of the human remains, these individuals have 
been determined to be Native American. Radiocarbon dating of the burial 
box confiscated in 1977 places the date of the burial to approximately 
1180 AD. Based on this date, this burial is one of the earliest known 
examples of Northwest Coast line form design. The box's designs 
indicate this individual was a member of the Tlingit Killerwhale clan. 
Ethnographic evidence and oral history indicate that during the 
smallpox epidemics of the 1800s, the Tlingit communities on Kuiu Island 
were decimated, and the survivors moved to Kake Village and Klawock 
Village; the members of the Killerwhale clan in these villages are the 
descendents of these survivors.
    Based on the above mentioned information, officials of the USDA 
Forest Service have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(1), 
the human remains listed above represent the physical remains of six 
individuals

[[Page 18035]]

of Native American ancestry. Officials of the USDA Forest Service have 
also determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(2), the 17 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 USDA Forest Service 
have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (e), 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 Organized Village of Kake and the Klawock Cooperative 
Association.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Organized Village of 
Kake and the Klawock Cooperative Association. Representatives of any 
other Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated 
with these human remains and associated funerary objects should contact 
Carol Jorgensen, Deputy Forest Supervisor, Tongass National Forest--
Stikine Area, P.O. Box 309, Petersburg, AK 99833; telephone: (907) 772-
3841, before May 13, 1998. Repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects to the culturally affiliated tribes may 
begin after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
Dated: April 2, 1998.
Francis P. McManamon,
Departmental Consulting Archeologist,
Manager, Archeology and Ethnography Program.
[FR Doc. 98-9661 Filed 4-10-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F