[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 6, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 678-679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-146]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM

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, National Park Service, Carlsbad 
Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM. The human remains

[[Page 679]]

were removed from locations near the entrance to Carlsbad Cavern in 
Eddy County, NM.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003. 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.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Carlsbad 
Caverns National Park professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Comanche Nation, 
Oklahoma; Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; 
Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico; Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; 
Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; Pueblo 
of Zia, New Mexico; San Carlos Apache Tribe of the San Carlos 
Reservation, Arizona; White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache 
Reservation, Arizona; Ysleta del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and Zuni Tribe of 
the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.
    In 1928, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed by National Park Service staff under unknown circumstances 
and without scientific documentation from an unspecified location near 
the entrance to Carlsbad Cavern in Eddy County, NM. No known individual 
was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1949 and 1951, human remains representing a minimum of two 
individuals were recovered by National Park Service staff under unknown 
circumstances and without scientific documentation from another 
unspecified location near the entrance to Carlsbad Cavern in Eddy 
County, NM. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Archeological investigation in the immediate vicinity of the 
entrance to Carlsbad Cavern has been limited. Several ring middens are 
located within 250 meters of the two sites. One of the ring middens was 
tested in 1994 and yielded brownware sherds, triangular-type projectile 
points, and radiocarbon dates of A.D. 960-1410. Pictographs near the 
discovery site have been attributed to several time periods, including 
the Archaic, and to several cultural groups, including Jumano and 
Apache.
    Officials of Carlsbad Caverns National Park 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 Carlsbad Caverns National Park also have 
determined that the human remains described in this notice cannot be 
affiliated with an Indian tribe according to the definition of cultural 
affiliation at 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), and are considered culturally 
unidentifiable.
    According to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation 
Review Committee's charter, the Review Committee is responsible for 
recommending specific actions for disposition of culturally 
unidentifiable human remains. In December 1998, Carlsbad Caverns 
National Park requested that the Review Committee recommend 
repatriation of the three culturally unidentifiable human remains to a 
group of 12 Indian tribes that had requested the human remains and that 
demonstrated a cultural relationship to the region. The Review 
Committee considered the proposal at its December 1998 meeting in Santa 
Fe, NM, and recommended repatriation of the human remains to the 12 
Indian tribes. A May 25, 1999, letter from the Departmental Consulting 
Archeologist on behalf of the chair of the Review Committee to the 
superintendent of Carlsbad Caverns National Park summarized the Review 
Committee's consideration of the park's request and transmitted the 
Review Committee's recommendation that the park repatriate the human 
remains to the group of 12 Indian tribes.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Mary 
Gibson Scott, Superintendent, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, 3225 
National Parks Highway, Carlsbad, NM 88220, telephone (505) 785-3020, 
before February 5, 2004. Repatriation of the human remains to the 
Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Fort Sill Apache 
Tribe of Oklahoma; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Jicarilla Apache Nation, New 
Mexico; Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; Mescalero Apache Tribe of the 
Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; San 
Carlos Apache Tribe of the San Carlos Reservation, Arizona; White 
Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona; Ysleta 
del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New 
Mexico may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come 
forward.
    Carlsbad Caverns National Park is responsible for notifying the 
Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Fort Sill Apache 
Tribe of Oklahoma; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Jicarilla Apache Nation, New 
Mexico; Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; Mescalero Apache Tribe of the 
Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; San 
Carlos Apache Tribe of the San Carlos Reservation, Arizona; White 
Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona; Ysleta 
del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New 
Mexico that this notice has been published.

    Dated: October 27, 2003.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources.
[FR Doc. 04-146 Filed 1-5-04; 8:45 am]
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