[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 228 (Wednesday, November 26, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66482-66483]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-29507]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: The Colorado College, Colorado 
Springs, CO

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, of the 
completion of an inventory of human remains in the possession of The 
Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO. The human remains were removed 
from historic Ute territory in El Paso, Rio Grande, and Costilla 
Counties, CO.
    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 Colorado 
College professional staff in consultation with representatives of the 
Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; 
Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation, Utah; and Ute 
Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & 
Utah.
    On November 13, 1969, human remains representing one individual 
were found along a tributary of Beaver Creek on the Bill Brown Ranch 
about 3 miles southwest of Monument, El Paso County, CO. Professor 
Michael Nowak of The Colorado College removed the human remains from 
the site in November 1969 and placed them in the Anthropology 
Department Archaeology Laboratory in Palmer Hall (Accession no. 
1980.2.6). The human remains were moved in 1989 to the Biological 
Anthropology Research Laboratory of Barnes Science Center. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present. A brass U.S. Army button was found with the human remains but 
cannot be located at this time.
    Cranial morphology indicates that the remains are Native American. 
The burial site and context support this determination. The human 
remains are believed to have been interred between 1869 and 1919 based 
on the presence of the brass U.S. Army button found with the human 
remains. The Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes had left Colorado by 1865, 
and only the Ute tribes remained after that date.
    On June 10, 1981, human remains representing one individual were 
discovered at the Graeser Petroglyph site (5RN11) near Monte Vista, Rio 
Grande County, CO. State Archaeologist Emerson Pearson and two 
assistants removed the human remains on June 11, 1981, after the Rio 
Grande County Coroner determined that the remains were of historic, not 
forensic, interest. Mr. Pearson transferred the human remains to The 
Colorado College Anthropology Department for curation (Accession no. 
Rio Grande CCO 061181). No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present. Historic beads associated with 
the human remains were retained by the landowner.
    Cranial morphology indicates that the human remains are Native 
American. The presence of historic beads and the location of the burial 
in historic Ute territory indicate that this individual is Ute. Mr. 
Eddie Box, Jr., Ute Mountain Tribal Council representative, confirmed 
this determination at the time of discovery.
    In July 1984, human remains representing one individual were 
discovered at site 5CT121, along a cutbank of Ojito Creek, Costilla 
County, CO. On August 10, 1984, Mr. Van Button of the U.S. Department 
of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, and Mr. James Martinez of the 
local chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society removed the human 
remains after the Costilla County Coroner determined that there was no 
forensic significance. The human remains were transferred to the The 
Colorado College Anthropology Department for study and curation 
(Accession no. Costilla Cty 081084). No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Cranial morphology indicates that the remains are Native 
American.The Southern Ute Indian Tribe map ``Original Ute Domain'' 
identifies El Paso, Rio Grande, and Costilla Counties as a part of the 
original domain of the Ute. Mr. Neil Cloud, NAGPRA Representative, 
Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado, 
provided folklore, oral tradition, geographical, and historical 
evidence that the three individuals are most likely Ute.
    Officials of The Colorado College have determined that, pursuant to 
25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains described above represent the 
physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry. 
Officials of The Colorado College 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 Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, 
Colorado; Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation, Utah; and 
Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New 
Mexico & Utah.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Joyce 
Eastburg, Legal Assistant, The Colorado College, 14 East Cache La 
Poudre Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80903, telephone (719)

[[Page 66483]]

389-6703, before December 26, 2003. Repatriation of the human remains 
to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, 
Colorado may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come 
forward.
    The Colorado College is responsible for notifying the Southern Ute 
Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; Ute Indian 
Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation, Utah; and Ute Mountain Tribe 
of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah that this 
notice has been published.

    Dated: October 24, 2003.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources.
[FR Doc. 03-29507 Filed 11-25-03; 8:45 am]
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