[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 168 (Tuesday, August 29, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52443-52444]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-21978]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains 
and Associated Funerary Objects from Des Moines County, IA in the 
Possession of the Office of the State Archaeologist, University of 
Iowa, and the State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

AGENCY: National Park Service.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 in the possession of 
the Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, Iowa City, 
IA, and associated funerary objects in the possession of the State 
Historical Society of Iowa, Keyes Collection, Iowa City, IA.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 43 CFR 10.2 (c). The 
determinations within this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of these Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations within this 
notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains and the associated 
funerary objects was made by the Office of the State Archaeologist, 
University of Iowa, professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, the Iowa 
Tribe of Oklahoma, the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma, Sac and Fox 
Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in 
Kansas and Nebraska, and the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing two individuals were 
recovered from a burial site at North Hill, Burlington, Des Moines 
County, IA, by an unknown person. At an unknown date, Charles Buettner, 
a local collector who lived in Burlington from

[[Page 52444]]

1869 to 1920, transferred the human remains to a local high school. The 
school later donated the remains to the Des Moines County Historical 
Museum, Burlington, IA, which transferred the remains to the Office of 
the State Archaeologist in 1994. No known individuals were identified.
    The 24 associated funerary objects include an abrader, 2 probable 
bone shaft straighteners, a clay fife, an iron stirrup fragment, a 
horse bit, an iron spoon handle, an iron file, an iron rat tail file, 2 
silver-plated arm bands, 2 sea urchin quill beads, a Chinese coin, a 
bronze trade ring, 5 copper-alloy coils, 3 brass coils, and a hook-
shaped flat metal fragment. At an unknown date, Charles R. Keyes 
obtained these funerary objects, which were subsequently donated to the 
State Historical Society of Iowa, where they are today. The description 
of the artifacts, their provenience, and matching handwriting on the 
labels of the human remains and the objects confirm that these are the 
associated funerary objects from the North Hill site.
    The labels accompanying the human remains and funerary objects are 
the only documentary information available. The labels state that the 
remains and objects came from a burial located ``on the edge of North 
Hill Cliffs,'' but have no further information on the origin or 
cultural affiliation of the remains and objects. The labels further 
note that, when found, the burials included an iron spear and 
arrowheads, a ``stone bullet mode,'' a stone pipe, and a bead necklace, 
none of which are among the objects held by the State Historical 
Society of Iowa. The Chinese coin was minted during the reign of 
Emperor Kao Tsung (A.D. 1736-1796), and its presence helps establish 
the maximum age of the burial. Euroamerican settlement of the 
Burlington area was underway by the 1830's and proceeded rapidly over 
the next few decades. It seems unlikely, given the growth of the city, 
that the burial would have taken place after about the middle of the 
19th century.
    The nature of the burial assemblage indicates that these remains 
and objects came from a Native American grave. Throughout the 18th 
century and the early part of the 19th century, many different native 
groups either resided periodically in the southeastern part of the 
state or passed through the area. These groups included the Meskwaki, 
Sauk, Iowa, and Otoe-Missouria, among others. In the absence of 
distinctive artifacts of native manufacture, however, definitive 
cultural identification of the individuals from this burial cannot be 
made.
    Based on the above-mentioned information, officials of the Office 
of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, and the State 
Historical Society of Iowa 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 Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, and the 
State Historical Society of Iowa also have determined that, pursuant to 
43 CFR 10.2 (d)(2), the 24 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 Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, 
and the State Historical Society of Iowa have determined that, pursuant 
to 43 CFR 10.2 (e), there is a relationship of shared group identity 
that can be reasonably traced between these Native American human 
remains and associated funerary objects and the Iowa Tribe of Kansas 
and Nebraska, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma, the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of 
Oklahoma, Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, Sac and Fox 
Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska, and the Sac and Fox Nation 
of Oklahoma. This notice has been sent to officials of the Iowa Tribe 
of Kansas and Nebraska, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma, the Otoe-Missouria 
Tribe of Oklahoma, Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, Sac 
and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska, and the Sac and Fox 
Nation of Oklahoma. Representatives of any other Indian tribe that 
believes itself to be culturally affiliated with these human remains 
and associated funerary objects should contact Shirley Schermer, 
Burials Program Director, Office of the State Archaeologist, 700 
Clinton Street Building, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, 
telephone (319) 384-0740, or Jerome Thompson, State Historical Society 
of Iowa, New Historical Building, 600 East Locust, Des Moines, IA 
50319-0290, telephone (515) 281-4221, before September 28, 2000. 
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects to 
the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma, the 
Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma, Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi 
in Iowa, Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska, and the 
Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma may begin after that date if no 
additional claimants come forward.

    Dated: August 16, 2000.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.
[FR Doc. 00-21978 Filed 8-28-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F