[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 230 (Monday, December 1, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67209-67210]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-29771]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, 
Bemidji, MN, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 
Chippewa National Forest, Cass Lake, MN

AGENCY: National Park Service.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 
Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, Bemidji, MN, and in the control of 
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Chippewa National 
Forest, Cass Lake, MN.
    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 Minnesota 
Indian Affairs Council professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Leech Lake Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, 
Minnesota.
    In 1988, human remains representing one individual were sent 
anonymously to the University of Minnesota. A note in the box indicated 
that the human remains were collected from the area of ``Winnie Dam.'' 
The Winnibigoshish Lake Dam, also known as Winnie Dam, is located in 
the Chippewa National Forest in Itasca County, MN. No known

[[Page 67210]]

individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    The human remains from Winnibigoshish Dam are believed to have been 
sent to the University of Minnesota by Mr. B. Marshall, a private 
collector. In 1986, Mr. Marshall donated to the Minnesota Indian 
Affairs Council the remains of four individuals that he had recovered 
in an area adjacent to Winnibigoshish Dam between 1965 and 1968. At the 
time of the donation, Mr. Marshall said that he believed that the 
remains of the four individuals dated to the historic period based on 
the artifacts found with them. The remains of the four individuals were 
reburied in 1987. The human remains sent to the University of Minnesota 
in 1988 are also believed to date to the historic period.
    Archeological and historical evidence indicates that during the 
historic period the area around Winnibigoshish Dam was occupied by 
ancestors of the present-day Leech Lake Band of the Minnesota Chippewa 
Tribe, Minnesota.
    Officials of the Minnesota Indians Affairs Council and Chippewa 
National Forest have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-
10), the human remains described above represent the physical remains 
of one individual of Native American ancestry. Officials of the 
Minnesota Indian Affairs Council and Chippewa National Forest 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 Leech Lake Band of 
the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota.

    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Joseph 
Day, Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, 3801 Bemidji Avenue, Bemidji, MN 
56601, telephone (218) 755-3825, before December 31, 2003. Repatriation 
of the human remains to the Leech Lake Band of the Minnesota Chippewa 
Tribe, Minnesota may proceed after that date if no additional claimants 
come forward.
    The Minnesota Indian Affairs Council is responsible for notifying 
the Leech Lake Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota that 
this notice has been published.

    Dated: September 23, 2003.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources.
[FR Doc. 03-29771 Filed 11-28-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-50-S