[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 161 (Wednesday, August 20, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50186-50187]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-21337]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: The University of Montana, 
Missoula, MT, and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, Washington, DC

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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[[Page 50187]]

    Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves 
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3003, of the 
completion of an inventory of human remains in the possession of The 
University of Montana, Missoula, MT, and in the control of the U.S. 
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington, DC. 
The human remains were removed from the Flathead Indian Reservation, 
Lake County, MT.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003 (d)(3). 
The determinations within this notice are the sole responsibility of 
the museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the 
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 
University of Montana and the Bureau of Indian Affairs professional 
staff in consultation with representatives of the Confederated Salish & 
Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, Montana.
    In 1950, human remains (UMFC44) representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from an unknown location on the Flathead Indian 
Reservation, Lake County, MT. Although the human remains are too 
fragmentary to evaluate ancestry with certainty, some characteristics 
are present that are typical of Native Americans. Moreover, the degree 
of weathering of the human remains is consistent with a prehistoric 
age, and the human remains are therefore considered to be Native 
American. No known individual was identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    In 1979, human remains (UMFC56) representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed by Lake County law enforcement authorities from 
an undisclosed location on the Flathead Indian Reservation, Lake 
County, MT. The character of the dental wear is similar to that on 
prehistoric Native American individuals from the region and the human 
remains therefore are considered most likely Native American. No known 
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    The Lake County Sheriff/Coroner had custody of the human remains 
until May 2002. At that time, The University of Montana sought and 
received custody of the human remains from the Lake County Sheriff/
Coroner for the purpose of returning the human remains to Native 
American tribes pursuant to applicable State and Federal laws.
    The region from which the human remains originated was inhabited 
during prehistoric and historic times by the ancestors of the present-
day Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian 
Reservation, Montana. On the basis of oral traditions; geographic, 
kinship, archeological, anthropological, and historical data; and study 
of the human remains, the University of Montana has determined that the 
human remains are culturally affiliated with members of the 
Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, 
Montana.
    Officials of The University of Montana and the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the 
human remains described above represent the physical remains of two 
individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of The University of 
Montana and the Bureau of Indian Affairs also have determined that, 
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), there is a relationship of shared group 
identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native American 
human remains and the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the 
Flathead Reservation, Montana.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Thomas 
A. Foor, Professor, Department of Anthropology, The University of 
Montana, Missoula, MT 59806, telephone (406) 243-2971, before September 
19, 2003. Repatriation of the human remains to the Confederated Salish 
& Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, Montana may proceed 
after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The University of Montana is responsible for notifying the 
Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, 
Montana that this notice has been published.

    Dated: July 8, 2003.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources.
[FR Doc. 03-21337 Filed 8-19-03; 8:45 am]
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