[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 230 (Monday, December 1, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 67205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-29773]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 7, Anchorage, AK
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
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region
7, Anchorage, AK. The human remains were removed from Amchitka Island,
AK.
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 U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Region 7 professional staff and forensic
anthropologists from the Alaska State Office of History and
Archaeology, in consultation with representatives of the the Aleut
Corporation, Atxam Corporation, and Native Village of Atka.
In 1980, human remains representing a minimum of one individual
were removed from an eroding midden site on Amchitka Island, in the
Aleutian Islands Unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge,
AK, by a seasonal refuge employee. The human remains were removed to
prevent them from being destroyed or stolen during construction
activity. No known individual was identified. No funerary objects are
present.
There are no radiocarbon dates available for the human remains.
Midden sites began to appear approximately 3,000 years ago in the
Aleutian Islands. The human remains were found in the upper levels of
the site and likely date to the Late Prehistoric period, possibly no
earlier than A.D. 1000.
The burial context and physical traits of the human remains are
consistent with those observed for precontact Aleut populations.
Skeletal morphology of present-day Aleut populations is similar to that
of prehistoric populations, and demonstrates biological and cultural
affiliation between present-day Aleut groups and prehistoric
populations in the Aleutian Islands.
Historical records demonstrate a cultural affiliation between the
late prehistoric populations on Amchitka Island and the Atxam
Corporation and the Native Village of Atka. After Russian contact with
the Rat Islands, to which Amchitka Island belongs, began in 1751, the
population declined precipitously. By the 1790s, the Rat Islands
populations were concentrated on Kiska and Amchitka Islands, and the
Russians removed most of the Rat Islands Aleuts to Atka Island in the
Andreanof Islands in the central Aleutian Island chain. By 1812, the
survivors were returned to Amchitka Island. By 1832, inhabitants of the
Rat Islands were again moved to Atka Island or to the Commander
Islands, and the Rat Islands, including Amchitka, were never
permanently re-occupied. Amchitka Island continued to be used by the
people of Atka Island as a hunting ground. In 1920, the Native
residents of Atka Island leased Amchitka Island for fox farming. The
lease was renewed in 1929 by the Atka Village Community. Atka Island
residents continued to use Amchitka Island until the Japanese invasion
of the western Aleutians in 1942 during World War II. Aleut Atka
residents are represented by the Native Village of Akta and Atxam
Corporation.
Officials of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 7 have
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001, (9-10), the human remains
listed above represent the physical remains of one individual of Native
American ancestry. Officials of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Region 7 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 Atxam
Corporation and the Native Village of Atka.
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Debra
Corbett, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1011 East Tudor Road,
Anchorage, AK 99503, telephone (907) 786-3399, before December 31,
2003. Repatriation of the human remains to the Atxam Corporation and
the Native Village of Atka may proceed after that date if no additional
claimants come forward.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 7 is responsible for
notifying the Aleut Corporation, Atxam Corporation, and the Native
Village of Atka that this notice has been published.
Dated: September 17, 2003.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources.
[FR Doc. 03-29773 Filed 11-28-03; 8:45 am]
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