[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 47 (Friday, March 9, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14201-14203]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-5944]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains 
and Associated Funerary Objects in the Possession of the U.S. 
Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Effigy Mounds 
National Monument, Harpers Ferry, IA.

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 possession of the U.S. Department of the 
Interior, National Park Service, Effigy Mounds National Monument, 
Harpers Ferry, 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 National Park Service unit that has control or 
possession of these Native American human remains and associated 
funerary objects. The Assistant Director, Cultural Resources 
Stewardship and Partnerships, is not responsible for the determinations 
within this notice.
    A detailed assessment and inventory of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects was made by National Park Service 
professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Iowa 
Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Otoe-Missouria 
Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma; Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Sac and Fox 
Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa; Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in 
Kansas and Nebraska; Sac and Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Winnebago Tribe of 
Nebraska; and the Upper Sioux Indian Community of the Upper Sioux 
Reservation, Minnesota. A NAGPRA delegate from the Minnesota Indian 
Affairs Council, a non-Federally recognized Indian group, was present 
at the consultation meeting sponsored by Effigy Mounds National 
Monument and was a representative on behalf of the Shakopee Mdewakanton 
Sioux Community of Minnesota (Prior Lake); Lower Sioux Indian Community 
of Minnesota Mdewakanton Sioux Indians of the Lower Sioux Reservation 
in Minnesota; and Prairie Island Indian Community of Minnesota 
Mdewakanton Sioux Indians of the Prairie Island Reservation, Minnesota.
    In 1952, human remains representing 12 individuals were recovered 
during

[[Page 14202]]

legally authorized National Park Service sponsored excavations at Mound 
#57, a site located within Effigy Mounds National Monument boundaries. 
These 12 sets of human remains are comprised of 8 adults and 4 
children. No known individuals were identified. The three associated 
funerary objects include one copper breastplate, one sandstone drill 
pivot, and one piece of obsidian. On August 3, 2000, these sets of 
human remains and associated funerary objects were returned to Effigy 
Mounds National Monument after having been in the possession of an 
individual (now deceased) since the 1950s. Based on archeological 
context, these 12 individuals were identified as Native American.
    In 1952, human remains representing one individual were recovered 
during legally authorized National Park Service-sponsored excavations 
at Mound #27, a site located within Effigy Mounds National Monument 
boundaries. This set of human remains is comprised of 12 teeth from a 
child who was approximately 8 or 9 years old. No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. On August 3, 
2000, this set of human remains was returned to Effigy Mounds National 
Monument after having been in the possession of an individual (now 
deceased) since the 1950s. Based on archeological context, this set of 
human remains was identified as Native American.
    In 1957, human remains representing one individual were recovered 
from a mound on private lands near Effigy Mounds National Monument. 
This set of human remains is comprised of 94 bone fragments from a 
bundle burial. These human remains were given to Effigy Mounds National 
Monument in 1962, and were transferred to the National Park Service's 
Midwest Archeological Center in 1973. No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. Based on 
archeological context, these human remains were identified as Native 
American.
    In 1998, human remains representing one individual were received by 
and taken into the possession of Effigy Mounds National Monument. These 
human remains are comprised of a cranium and mandible, which were 
mailed to the monument by an anonymous individual who claimed to have 
purchased the skull for an art class and was told it came from the 
mounds in the area of Effigy Mounds National Monument. No known 
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present. 
Based on physical attributes of the skull, the Office of the State 
Archaeologist in Iowa identified these remains as Native American.
    On the basis of archeological context, material culture, and 
geographic location, the mounds at Effigy Mounds National Monument have 
been identified as belonging to the Late Woodland Period culture (1700-
750 B.P.). The Oneota culture (800-300 B.P.), which replaced the Effigy 
Mounds culture, occupied the area surrounding Effigy Mounds National 
Monument and is identified as being clearly ancestral to the Iowa Tribe 
of Kansas and Nebraska, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma, Otoe-Missouria Tribe of 
Oklahoma, Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, and Winnebago Tribe of 
Nebraska. Linguistic, oral tradition, temporal and geographic evidence 
reasonably indicates that the following Sioux Indian tribes possess 
ancestral ties to the Effigy Mounds National Monument region and the 
human remains and associated funerary objects described above: Upper 
Sioux Indian Community of the Upper Sioux Reservation, Shakopee 
Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota (Prior Lake), Lower Sioux 
Indian Community of Minnesota Mdewakanton Sioux Indians of the Lower 
Sioux Reservation in Minnesota, and Prairie Island Indian Community of 
Minnesota Mdewakanton Sioux Indians of the Prairie Island Reservation.
    The Treaty of September 21, 1832 (Stat. L. VII, 374) between the 
Sauk and Fox and the United States, a cession required of the Sauk and 
Fox as indemnity for the expenses of the Black Hawk War, demonstrates 
that the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, Sac and Fox 
Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska, and Sac and Fox Nation of 
Oklahoma are the aboriginal occupants of the lands encompassing the 
present-day Effigy Mounds National Monument. Based upon an examination 
of the historical and geographical information, the Effigy Mounds 
National Monument superintendent determined that the Sac and Fox Tribe 
of the Mississippi in Iowa, Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas 
and Nebraska, and Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma share a historic and 
continuing affiliation with Effigy Mounds National Monument lands, but 
do not possess a cultural affiliation with the human remains and 
associated funerary objects described above.
    Based on the above-mentioned information, the Effigy Mounds 
National Monument superintendent has determined that, pursuant to 43 
CFR 10.2 (d)(1), the human remains listed above represent the physical 
remains of 15 individuals of Native American ancestry. The Effigy 
Mounds National Monument superintendent also has determined that, 
pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(2), the three 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, the Effigy Mounds National Monument superintendent 
determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (e), there is the 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; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Otoe-
Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma; Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; 
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska; Upper Sioux Indian Community of the Upper 
Sioux Reservation, Minnesota; Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of 
Minnesota (Prior Lake); Lower Sioux Indian Community of Minnesota 
Mdewakanton Sioux Indians of the Lower Sioux Reservation in Minnesota; 
and Prairie Island Indian Community of Minnesota Mdewakanton Sioux 
Indians of the Prairie Island Reservation, Minnesota.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas 
and Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, 
Oklahoma; Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Sac and Fox Tribe of the 
Mississippi in Iowa; Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and 
Nebraska; Sac and Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska; 
Upper Sioux Indian Community of the Upper Sioux Reservation, Minnesota; 
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota; Lower Sioux Indian 
Community of Minnesota Mdewakanton Sioux Indians of the Lower Sioux 
Reservation in Minnesota; and Prairie Island Indian Community of 
Minnesota Mdewakanton Sioux Indians of the Prairie Island Reservation, 
Minnesota. Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes 
itself to be culturally affiliated with these human remains and 
associated funerary objects should contact Phyllis Ewing, 
Superintendent, Effigy Mounds National Monument, 151 Highway 76, 
Harpers Ferry, IA 52146-7519, telephone (319) 873-3491, before April 9, 
2001. Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
to the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Otoe-
Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma; Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; 
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska; Upper Sioux Indian

[[Page 14203]]

Community of the Upper Sioux Reservation, Minnesota; Shakopee 
Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota (Prior Lake); Lower Sioux 
Indian Community of Minnesota Mdewakanton Sioux Indians of the Lower 
Sioux Reservation in Minnesota; or Prairie Island Indian Community of 
Minnesota Mdewakanton Sioux Indians of the Prairie Island Reservation, 
Minnesota will begin after that date if no additional claimants come 
forward.

    Dated: February 14, 2001
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.
[FR Doc. 01-5944 Filed 3-8-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F