[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 12, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55046-55047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-23382]


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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 Sandoval County, NM in the Control 
of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, 
Washington, DC and in the Possession of the University of Denver 
Department of Anthropology and Museum of Anthropology, Denver, CO

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 the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, and in the possession of 
the University of Denver Department of Anthropology and Museum of 
Anthropology, Denver, CO.
    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 University 
of Denver Department of Anthropology and Museum of Anthropology 
professional staff, a contract physical anthropologist, and the New 
Mexico State Archaeologist, in consultation with representatives of the 
Pueblo of Jemez, the Pueblo of Acoma, and the Pueblo of Zia.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing one individual were 
recovered by an unknown individual from Old Zia Pueblo, Sandoval 
County, New Mexico, within the exterior boundaries of the Zia Pueblo 
reservation. According to an account written by Theodore Sowers, Ray 
Salas, Governor of the Pueblo of Zia, gave the remains to Mr. Sowers in 
the late 1930's or early 1940's, although the circumstances under which 
this transfer occurred are not described. It is not clear whether Mr. 
Salas was acting in his capacity as an elected Tribal official when he 
gave the remains to Mr. Sowers. Mr. Sowers was a graduate of the 
University of Denver, and, in 1995, his daughters donated the remains 
to the University of Denver so that they could be repatriated. The 
identity of this individual is not known. There are no associated 
funerary objects.
    Oral history, archeological evidence, and ethnohistoric documents 
have identified Old Zia as a group of four abandoned villages that were 
occupied by the Zia people from approximately A.D. 1250 to 1800. Upon 
the abandonment of these villages, their occupants moved to the 
remaining village, which is the present-day Pueblo of Zia. These 
remains came from one of the four Old Zia sites, but it is impossible 
to determine which site. The cultural, social, linguistic, and historic 
continuity of affiliation between the Pueblo of Zia and people of Old 
Zia is attested by evidence from oral history presented during the 
consultations, and supported by the ethnological data and historic 
accounts of the Spanish colonizers.
    Based on the above-mentioned information, officials of the 
University of Denver Department of Anthropology and Museum of 
Anthropology have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(1), the 
human remains listed above represent the physical remains of one 
individual of Native American ancestry. Also, officials of the 
University of Denver Department of Anthropology and Museum of 
Anthropology 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 the Pueblo of 
Zia.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Pueblo of Jemez, the 
Pueblo of Acoma, the Pueblo of Zia, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with these human remains and associated funerary 
objects should contact Jan I. Bernstein, Collections

[[Page 55047]]

Manager and NAGPRA Coordinator, University of Denver Museum of 
Anthropology, 2000 Asbury, Sturm Hall S-146, Denver, CO 80218-2406, 
email [email protected], telephone (303) 871-2543, before October 12, 
2000. Repatriation of the human remains to the Pueblo of Zia may begin 
after that date if no additional claimants come forward.

    Dated: August 22, 2000.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.
[FR Doc. 00-23382 Filed 9-11-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F