[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 176 (Wednesday, September 11, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 57626]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-23023]


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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 South Carolina 
Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, Columbia, SC, and in the 
Control of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Savannah Coastal Refuges, Savannah, GA

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 South Carolina Institute of 
Archaeology and Anthropology, Columbia, SC, and in the control of the 
U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Savannah 
Coastal Refuges, Savannah, GA.
    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 associated funerary 
objects was made by the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and 
Anthropology staff on behalf of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Savannah 
Coastal Refuges, in consultation with representatives of the Santee 
Sioux Tribe of the Santee Reservation of Nebraska.
    In 1973, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed during legally authorized excavations conducted by Leland 
G. Ferguson at the Santee Indian Mound/Fort Watson Site (38CR1), 
Clarendon County, SC, within Santee National Wildlife Refuge 
boundaries. No known individual was identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    In 1973, human remains representing a minimum of 26 individuals 
were removed during excavations conducted by Leland G. Ferguson at the 
Scott's Lake Bluff Site (38CR35), Clarendon County, SC, within Santee 
National Wildlife Refuge boundaries. No known individuals were 
identified. The 36 associated funerary objects are 6 Caraway Triangular 
points, 1 granite celt, 1 polished celt, 11 shell beads, 8 quartz 
pebbles, 2 plain ceramic cover bowls, 2 Complicated Stamped ceramic 
urns, and miscellaneous clay, lithic, and pigment fragments.
    Based on the archaeological evidence, the human remains and 
associated funerary objects listed above date to the Mississippian 
period (A.D. 1200-1600). Based upon ethnohistorical accounts, the 
Santee occupied an area in South Carolina along the river that bears 
their name. After their defeat by the English colonists and their ally, 
the Cusabo in the early 18th century, many of the Santee and the 
Congaree were transported to the West Indies as slaves or incorporated 
into the Catawba Indian Nation. However, legends of the Santee Sioux 
Tribe of the Santee Reservation of Nebraska state that ``a drought 
occurred many years ago that caused the tribe to separate with one 
group remaining in South Carolina and the other moving west to find 
better hunting grounds.''
    Based upon the above-mentioned information, officials of the 
Savannah Coastal Refuges, Fish and Wildlife Service and the South 
Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology have determined 
that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2(d)(1), the human remains listed above 
represent the physical remains of 27 individuals of Native American 
ancestry. Officials of the Savannah Coastal Refuges, Fish and Wildlife 
Service and the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and 
Anthropology have also determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2(d)(2), 
the 36 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 Savannah 
Coastal Refuges, Fish and Wildlife Service and the South Carolina 
Institute of Archaeology and 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 associated funerary objects and the Santee Sioux 
Tribe of the Santee Reservation of Nebraska.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Catawba Indian 
Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina, and Santee 
Sioux Tribe of the Santee Reservation of Nebraska. Representatives of 
any other Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated 
with these human remains and cultural items should contact Richard S. 
Kanaski, Office of the Regional Archaeologist, Savannah Coastal 
Refuges, 1000 Business Center Drive - Suite 10, Savannah, GA 31405, 
(912) 652-4415, extension 113, before October 11, 2002. Repatriation of 
these human remains and cultural items to the Santee Sioux Tribe of the 
Santee Reservation of Nebraska may begin after the above date if no 
additional claimants come forward.

    Dated: July 23, 2002.
Robert Stearns,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 02-23023 Filed 9-10-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-S