[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 225 (Tuesday, November 23, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68169-68171]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-25922]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Salt Flat, TX

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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[[Page 68170]]

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Salt Flat, TX 
(the Federal agency that has control of the cultural items), determined 
that the physical remains of 10 individuals of Native American ancestry 
in Guadalupe Mountains National Park's collections, described below in 
Information about cultural items, are culturally unidentifiable. The 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee 
(Review Committee) recommended that Guadalupe Mountains National Park 
repatriate 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 Isleta, 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.
    The National Park Service publishes this notice on behalf of 
Guadalupe Mountains National Park as part of the National Park 
Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA. The 
superintendent of Guadalupe Mountains National Park is solely 
responsible for information and determinations stated in this notice.
    Information about NAGPRA is available online at www.cr.nps.gov/nagpra.

DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items to the Indian tribes listed 
above in Summary may proceed after December 23, 2004, if no additional 
claimants come forward. Representatives of any other Indian tribe that 
believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the cultural items 
should contact Guadalupe Mountains National Park before December 23, 
2004.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Authority. 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq. and 43 CFR Part 10.
    Contact. Contact John Lujan, Superintendent, Guadalupe Mountains 
National Park, HC 60, Box 400, Salt Flat, TX 79847-9400, telephone 
(915) 828-3251, regarding determinations stated in this notice or to 
claim the cultural items described in this notice.
    Consultation. Guadalupe Mountains National Park identified the 
cultural items and assessed the cultural affiliation of the cultural 
items 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 Isleta, 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.
    Information about cultural items. In 1934-35, human remains 
representing a minimum of six individuals were removed from Williams 
Cave in Culberson County, TX. At the time, the land on which Williams 
Cave is located was privately owned. The excavations were conducted 
under the auspices of the University Museum of Philadelphia and the 
Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. Items found at the site 
indicate the human remains were buried during the Archaic period (3,000 
B.C. to A.D. 500). Following the excavation, the human remains from 
Williams Cave were curated by several institutions, including the 
Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, Carlsbad Municipal Museum, 
and University of Nebraska[macr]Lincoln. In 1998, the human remains 
curated by the Carlsbad Municipal Museum and the University of 
Nebraska-Lincoln were donated to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. No 
known individuals were identified.
    In 1965-67, human remains representing a minimum of four 
individuals were recovered from Pratt Cave in Culberson County, TX. At 
the time, the land on which Pratt Cave was located was under Federal 
jurisdiction. Items found at the site indicate the human remains were 
buried during the Late Archaic period (600 B.C. to A.D. 500). No known 
individuals were identified.
    On September 30, 1972, the lands on which both Williams Cave and 
Pratt Cave are located became part of Guadalupe Mountains National 
Park.
    Guadalupe Mountains National Park officials determined that a 
relationship of shared group identity could not reasonably be traced 
between the human remains and any present-day Indian tribe.
    According to the Review Committee's charter, the Review Committee 
is responsible for recommending specific actions for disposition of 
culturally unidentifiable human remains. In December 1998, Guadalupe 
Mountains National Park requested that the Review Committee recommend 
repatriation of the 10 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 Guadalupe Mountains 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 all the tribes listed above in Summary except the 
Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico, which did not join the consultation until 
after the Review Committee's December 1998 meeting
    In 2000, the human remains from the 1934-35 Williams Cave 
excavations that were curated by the Philadelphia Academy of Natural 
Sciences were donated to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The 
fragmentary human remains had been cataloged in Philadelphia as part of 
the paleontological collections and were not included in the December 
1998 repatriation request to the NAGPRA Review Committee. Based on 
documentation from the 1934-35 excavations, it is believed that the 
fragmentary human remains represent some of the six individuals removed 
during the 1934-35 excavations.
    In November 2000, the superintendent of Guadalupe Mountains 
National Park requested that the Review Committee recommend 
repatriation of the culturally unidentifiable human remains donated to 
the park by the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences to a group of 
13 Indian tribes that had requested the human remains and that 
demonstrated a cultural relationship to the region. The Review 
Committee considered the request at its December 2000 meeting in 
Nashville, TN, and recommended repatriation of the human remains to the 
13 Indian tribes. A February 15, 2001, letter from the Assistant 
Director, Cultural Resources on behalf of the chair of the Review 
Committee to the superintendent of Guadalupe Mountains National Park 
summarized the Review Committee's consideration of the park's request 
and transmitted the Review

[[Page 68171]]

Committee's recommendation that the park repatriate the human remains 
to the tribes listed above in Summary.
    In 2001, an additional human bone was discovered in the Guadalupe 
Mountains National Park collection during a review of cataloged mammal 
bones. This bone was originally collected from Pratt Cave in 1967 and 
is believed to represent one of the individuals previously considered 
by the Review Committee.
    Disposition of funerary objects associated with culturally 
unidentifiable human remains is not addressed by the Native American 
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and no associated funerary 
objects are included in this notice.
    Determinations. Under 25 U.S.C. 3003, Guadalupe Mountains National 
Park officials determined that the human remains represent the physical 
remains of 10 individuals of Native American ancestry. Guadalupe 
Mountains National Park officials determined that the human remains are 
culturally unidentifiable.
    Notification. Guadalupe Mountains National Park is responsible for 
sending copies of this notice to the Indian tribes listed above in 
Consultation.

    Dated: September 28, 2004
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA program
[FR Doc. 04-25922 Filed 11-22-04; 8:45 am]
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