[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45534-45535]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-17087]


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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 Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District, 
Vicksburg, MS

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 completion of an inventory of human remains in the possession of the 
U.S. Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg 
District, Vicksburg, MS.
    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. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations within this notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by professional 
staff of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian 
Institution, Washington, D.C., and Coastal Environments, Inc., Baton 
Rouge, LA, under contract to the Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg 
District, in consultation with representatives of the Caddo Indian 
Tribe of Oklahoma.
    In 1977, human remains representing a minimum of eight individuals 
were removed from the Hanna site (16RR4), Red River Parish, LA, by New 
World Research, Inc., prior to construction of the Red River Waterway 
project. In 1982, control of the collections that resulted from these 
excavations during the Red River Waterway project was transferred from 
the Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District to the Vicksburg 
District. No known individuals were identified. No funerary objects are 
present.
    Based on radiocarbon dates, these burials are dated to A.D. 1000-
1300. Archeological and geographic evidence indicate that during this 
time period, the Hanna site was occupied by the Caddo people, who are 
represented today by the Caddo Indian Tribe of Oklahoma.
    Based on the above-mentioned information, officials of the Army 
Corps of Engineers' Vicksburg District have determined that, pursuant 
to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(1), the human remains listed above represent the 
physical remains of eight individuals of Native American ancestry. 
Officials of the Army Corps of Engineers' Vicksburg District also 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 Caddo Indian Tribe of Oklahoma.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Caddo Indian Tribe of 
Oklahoma; Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma; Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; 
Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, Louisiana; 
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Mississippi; Quapaw Tribe of 
Indians, Oklahoma; and Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe of Louisiana. 
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with these human remains should contact Mr. James 
Wojtala, Environmental Analysis Section, Environmental and Economic 
Analysis Branch, Planning, Programs, and Project Management Division, 
Vicksburg District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 4155 Clay Street, 
Vicksburg, MS 39183-3435, telephone (601) 631-5428, before August 8, 
2002. Repatriation of the human remains to the Caddo Indian Tribe of 
Oklahoma may begin after that

[[Page 45535]]

date if no additional claimants come forward.

    Dated: May 1, 2002.
Robert Stearns,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 02-17087 Filed 7-8-02; 8:45 am]
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