[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 28 (Thursday, February 10, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6621-6622]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-3053]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review 
Committee: Findings

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: NAGPRA Review Committee Advisory Findings and Recommendations 
Regarding Human Remains and Associated Funerary Objects in the Control 
of Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

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    After full and careful consideration of the information and 
statements submitted and presented by representatives of the Hopi Tribe 
and Chaco Culture National Historical Park at its meetings on May 3-5, 
1999 and November 18-20, 1999, the Native American Graves Protection 
and Repatriation Review Committee (Review Committee) considers that:
    1. On May 12, 1999, Chaco Culture National Historical Park 
published a Notice of Inventory Completion regarding 265 Native 
American human remains and 743 funerary objects. The park determined 
the human remains and funerary objects to be culturally affiliated with 
the Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Navajo Nation of Arizona, New Mexico, and 
Utah; Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Nambe, New Mexico; Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; Pueblo of Pojoaque, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Ildefonso, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of San Juan, New Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Clara, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; and 
the Zuni Tribe of Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.
    2. The Hopi Tribe disputed the park's determinations of cultural 
affiliation, arguing that:
    a. Proper tribe-by-tribe consultation was not performed by the 
park;
    b. The park did not apply a rigorous standard in weighing the 
evidence in making determinations of cultural affiliation; and
    c. Determinations of cultural affiliation must be made on an 
object-by-object basis, rather than globally for the park as a whole.
    3. Chaco Culture National Historical Park answered these objections 
by pointing to a nine-year record of tribal consultations. The park 
also argued that there is cultural continuity within Chaco Canyon 
dating to the Archaic Period (pre 1 AD) and that as such, there was no 
value in assessing cultural affiliation for each site individually. The 
park defended its determinations of cultural affiliation on the grounds 
that a broad range of both scientific and traditional evidence had been 
used. It was also noted that given the complex history of Chaco Canyon, 
and the strong

[[Page 6622]]

traditional attachment that the place held for many tribes, it was not 
surprising that many groups should be considered culturally affiliated.
    On hearing all of the evidence presented, the Review Committee 
finds that the complaints made by the Hopi Tribe have merit. While the 
Review Committee recognizes the efforts made in the area of tribal 
consultation, tribes were not given adequate opportunity to consult on 
a one-to-one basis and to make their concerns known outside of a public 
forum. The Review Committee also agrees with the Hopi Tribe that more 
is needed in the evaluating and weighing of the evidence for 
establishing cultural affiliation. Rather than a rigorous determination 
of cultural affiliation, the park seems to have applied a much looser 
criterion of cultural relationship to geographical place, as a basis 
for determining culturally affiliated tribes. The park's global 
approach to the assessment Chaco archeological sites, effectively 
precluded any realistic assessment of cultural affiliation based on 
specific site features, dates, or cultural practices. Likewise, sites 
with virtually no contextual information were treated as culturally 
affiliated. The global approach to site assessment and affiliation 
resulted in a determination of cultural affiliation for all Chaco 
Canyon remains with all groups expressing cultural relationship to the 
region.
    It is the recommendation of the Review Committee that the Chaco 
Culture National Historical Park withdraw its published Notice if 
Inventory Completion and reassess its determination of cultural 
affiliation. The Review Committee recommends that this reassessment 
specifically consider the following issues:
    1. Determination of cultural affiliation should be made on a site-
by-site basis, assessing each site based on the specific data 
available;
    2. While collective consultation can be useful, it should not be 
used in lieu of individual tribal consultation when requested by an 
Indian tribe;
    3. A proper determination of cultural affiliation necessarily 
requires the critical evaluation and careful weighing of all available 
evidence. This weighing should emphasize group identity, time period, 
specific cultural practices, and traceable cultural continuity;
    4. The park should take steps to ensure the objective character of 
the determinations of cultural affiliation of the human remains and 
other cultural items in the control of the park. The process the park 
follows in making cultural affiliation determinations also must be seen 
by others to have been objective. For example, the Review Committee 
believes that the park should engage a qualified independent contractor 
to re-evaluate the information from the Chaco sites and offer specific 
recommendation for cultural affiliation.
    Review Committee member James Bradley did not participate in the 
Review Committee's deliberations nor in the formulation of these 
advisory findings and recommendations.
    These advisory findings and recommendations do not necessarily 
represent the views of the National Park Service or the Secretary of 
the Interior. The National Park Service and the Secretary of the 
Interior have not taken a position on these matters.

    Dated: January 10, 2000.
Martin Sullivan,
Chair, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review 
Committee.
[FR Doc. 00-3053 Filed 2-9-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F