[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 12, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55042-55043]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-23379]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion for Human Remains and Associated 
Funerary Objects from Fort Stevenson, Dakota Territory in the 
Possession of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard 
University, Cambridge, MA

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 from Fort Stevenson, Dakota Territory in the 
possession of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard 
University, Cambridge, MA.
    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 was made by Peabody 
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology professional staff in consultation 
with representatives of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne 
River Reservation, South Dakota; the Spirit Lake Tribe, North Dakota; 
the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, 
Montana; and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota.
    In 1867, human remains representing three individuals were removed 
from Fort Stevenson, Dakota Territory by U.S. Army Surgeon Charles C. 
Gray and Acting Assistant Surgeon Washington Matthews on behalf of the 
Smithsonian Institution. No known individuals were identified. A Notice 
of Inventory Completion for these human remains was published September 
3, 1997; a corrected notice was published September 15, 1997. The 16 
associated funerary objects are 7 dentalium shell beads, 7 oval shell 
beads, 1 blue glass bead and a brass bracelet.
    Neither the records of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology nor the Smithsonian Institution indicate the date of transfer 
of these individuals to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology. Primary accession and catalogue documents associated with 
these individuals at the Smithsonian record the individuals to be 
``Yanktonnais Sioux.'' Cuthead Band of Upper Yanktonai Sioux oral 
traditions and historical documents indicate that Fort Stevenson was 
located within the Cuthead Band's traditional territory during the 19th 
century. The specific cultural affiliation attributed to the 
individuals by the collectors and the known policy during the 19th 
century of the Smithsonian Institution to request the remains of 
recently deceased Native individuals to be collected by U.S. Army 
personnel and Indian agents and sent to the Smithsonian Institution 
further support affiliation with the Cuthead Band of Yanktonai Sioux. 
The Cuthead Band of Yanktonai Sioux are represented by the Cheyenne 
River Sioux Tribe, Spirit Lake Tribe, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of 
the Fort

[[Page 55043]]

Peck Reservation, and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
    Based on the above-mentioned information, officials of the Peabody 
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology have determined that, pursuant to 
43 CFR 10.2 (d)(2), the 16 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. Officials of 
the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology 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 associated 
funerary objects and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne 
River Reservation, South Dakota; the Spirit Lake Tribe, North Dakota; 
the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, 
Montana; and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota. 
This notice has been sent to officials of the Cheyenne River Sioux 
Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; the Spirit Lake 
Tribe, North Dakota; the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck 
Indian Reservation, Montana; and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North 
and South Dakota. Representatives of any other Indian tribe that 
believes itself to be culturally affiliated with these associated 
funerary objects should contact Barbara Isaac, Repatriation 
Coordinator, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard 
University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, telephone (617) 
495-2254, before October 12, 2000. Repatriation of the associated 
funerary objects to the culturally affiliated tribes may begin after 
that date if no additional claimants come forward.

    Dated: August 18, 2000.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.
[FR Doc. 00-23379 Filed 9-11-00; 8:45 am]
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