[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 50 (Friday, March 14, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12374-12375]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6216]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Justice, 
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Resident Agency, Rapid City, SD

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves 
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3003, Sec. 5, of 
the completion of an inventory of human remains in the possession of 
the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 
Resident Agency, Rapid City, SD. These human remains were removed from 
Crystal Cave Park, Pennington County, SD.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003, Sec. 5 
(d)(3). 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 the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation, Resident Agency, Rapid City and Smithsonian 
Institution professional staff in consultation with a representative of 
the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South 
Dakota, representing the interests of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of 
the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Flandreau Santee Sioux 
Tribe of South Dakota; Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge 
Reservation, South Dakota; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian 
Reservation, South Dakota; Santee Sioux Tribe of the Santee Reservation 
of Nebraska; and Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.
    According to the owners of Crystal Cave Park, a tourist attraction 
near Rapid City, SD, at an unknown date human remains representing a 
minimum of two individuals were removed from Crystal Cave, on the 
premises of Crystal Cave Park, Pennington County, SD, by prior owners 
of the facility. In 1997, these human remains were seized from a 
display case at Crystal Cave Park in connection with an investigation 
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Resident Agency, Rapid City. 
The human remains consist of the the nearly complete cranium of an 
adult and the left parietal of a child. No known individuals were 
identified. No funerary objects were present at the time of seizure.
    Following seizure, the two sets of human remains were forwarded to 
the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, for 
analysis. Analysis indicated that the adult human remains are Native 
American. Preservation and appearance of the cranium are consistent 
with a Historic period burial. These human remains probably came from 
an exposed context, such as a 19th-century above-ground burial. The 
presence of copper artifact staining further supports this conclusion 
in that such staining is a common occurrence in Historic period 
burials. At some time, it appears likely that the human remains were 
removed from a burial site and placed inside Crystal Cave. The adult 
human remains show features specifically characteristic of the Sioux. 
Based upon cranial measurements and morphological comparisons and 
consultation with the representative of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe 
of the Cheyenne River Reservation, the tribal affiliation of the adult 
individual is most likely Sioux, with the closest affinity being the 
Teton division. Teton is the Lakota group of the Sioux found throughout 
South Dakota.
    Analysis indicated that the child human remains, recovered with the 
skull from Crystal Cave Park, was the left parietal of a child aged 
approximately 6 months to 1 year. The condition of the parietal 
suggested a Historic period context. The sex of the child was 
indeterminate and the Smithsonian Institution could not make a 
statement on tribal affiliation. Based on the association of the two 
sets of human remains, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Resident 
Agency, Rapid City considers the human remains of the child to belong 
to the Teton division of the Sioux.
    Officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Resident Agency, 
Rapid City have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001, Sec. 2 (9-
10), the human remains listed above represent the physical remains of 
two individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation, Resident Agency, Rapid City also have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001, Sec. 2 (2), there is a 
relationship of shared group identity that can reasonably be traced 
between these Native American human remains and the Cheyenne River 
Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Flandreau 
Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine 
Ridge Reservation, South Dakota; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud 
Indian Reservation, South Dakota; Santee Sioux Tribe of the Santee 
Reservation of Nebraska; and Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with these human remains should contact 
Assistant United States Attorney Gregg S. Peterman, U.S. Department of 
Justice, 515 Ninth Street, Room 201, Rapid City, SD 57701, telephone 
(605) 342-7822, before April 14, 2003. Repatriation of the human 
remains to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River 
Reservation may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come 
forward.
    The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Resident Agency, Rapid City is 
responsible for notifying the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the 
Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe 
of South Dakota; Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation, 
South Dakota; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, 
South Dakota; Santee Sioux Tribe of the Santee Reservation of

[[Page 12375]]

Nebraska; and Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota that this notice has 
been published.

    Dated: January 29, 2003.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.
[FR Doc. 03-6216 Filed 3-13-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-S