[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 10 (Friday, January 14, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2427-2428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-905]


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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 Valley, Lancaster, and Nance 
Counties, NE in the Possession of the Nebraska State Historical 
Society, Lincoln, NE

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), 43 CFR 10.9, 
of the completion of an inventory of human remains and associated 
funerary objects from Valley, Lancaster, and Nance Counties, NE in the 
possession of the Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln, NE.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Nebraska 
State Historical Society professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Pawnee Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; the Three 
Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; and 
the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco and 
Tawakonie), Oklahoma.
    In 1993, human remains representing a minimum of two individuals 
were recovered from private lands in Howard County, NE during 
construction associated with a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Canal 
project. In 1995, these human remains were transferred to the Nebraska 
State Historical Society. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects were present.
    Based on material culture, and site features, as well as proximity 
to other known Pawnee village and burial areas, these human remains 
have been identified as Native American, specifically of Pawnee 
affiliation.
    In 1997, human remains representing two individuals were recovered 
from site 25VY42, Valley County, NE during a legally authorized 
archeological investigation conducted by the Nebraska State Historical 
Society Staff as a result of highway construction. No known individuals 
were identified. The two associated funerary objects include a stone 
pipe and a stone knife.
    Based on associated funerary objects, these individuals have been 
identified as Native American. Based on location and associated 
funerary objects, site 25VY42 has been identified as a habitation 
associated with the Central Plains tradition (A.D. 1000-1400).
    In 1998, human remains representing one individual were received by 
the Nebraska Historical Society from the Lancaster County Sheriff's 
Office. These human remains had been confiscated during a criminal 
investigation. No known individual was identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Based on cranial morphology and the condition of the crania, this 
individual has been identified as Native American, dating to c. 1000-
1400 A.D. Based on craniometrics, this individual has been affiliated 
with the Central Plains tradition.
    Based on continuities of ceramic decoration, stone tool form and 
function, architecture, chronology, mortuary custom, subsistence 
pattern, settlement pattern, and geographic location, the Central 
Plains Tradition is recognized by many anthropologists as ancestral to 
the present-day Pawnee, Arikara, and Wichita. Pawnee and Arikara oral 
traditions also indicate cultural affiliation between the earlier 
Central Plains Tradition and these present-day tribes. The Wichita and 
Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco and Tawakonie), Oklahoma. and 
Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota, 
(representing the Arikara) have agreed to allow the Pawnee to claim the 
human remains listed above.
    In 1998, human remains representing a minimum of five individuals 
from the Wright site (25NC3), near Genoa, Nance County, NE were 
anonymously delivered to the Nebraska State Historical Society. No 
known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects were 
present.
    Based on the note written on the box these human remains were in, 
these have been determined to be from the Wright site. The Wright Site 
is a well documented Pawnee village dating to the late 1600s or early 
1700s. Based on the presumed location of these remains and skeletal 
morphology, these individuals have been identified as Native American 
of Pawnee affiliation.
    During the 1930s, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were recovered from the Burkett site (25NC1), Nance County, 
NE and placed in the collections of the Nebraska Historical Society. In 
1998, these remains were found in a mislabeled container in the 
collections of the Nebraska State Historical Society. No known 
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Based on location, historical documents, and material culture, the 
Burkett site has been identified as a historic Pawnee village dating to 
the late 1600s or early 1700s.
    Based on the above mentioned information, officials of the Nebraska 
State Historical Society have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 
(d)(1), the human remains listed above represent the physical remains 
of a minimum of eleven individuals of Native American ancestry. 
Officials of the Nebraska State Historical Society have also determined 
that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(2), the two 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 Nebraska State Historical Society 
have also 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 Pawnee Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; the Three Affiliated 
Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; and the Wichita 
and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco and Tawakonie), Oklahoma.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Pawnee Indian Tribe 
of Oklahoma; the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold 
Reservation, North Dakota; and the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes 
(Wichita, Keechi, Waco and Tawakonie), Oklahoma. Representatives of any 
other Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated 
with these human remains should contact Rob Bozell, Associate Director, 
Nebraska State Historical Society, 1500 R Street, P.O. Box 82554, 
Lincoln, NE 68501-2554; telephone: (402) 471-4789, before

[[Page 2428]]

February 14, 2000. Repatriation of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects to the Pawnee Indian Tribe of Oklahoma may begin after 
that date if no additional claimants come forward.
Dated: December 15, 1999.

    Francis P. McManamon,
Departmental Consulting Archeologist,
Manager, Archeology and Ethnography Program.
[FR Doc. 00-905 Filed 1-13-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F