[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 104 (Wednesday, June 1, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31528-31529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-10801]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Oregon State Museum of 
Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Oregon State Museum of Anthropology, 
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR (museum that has control of the 
cultural items), determined that the physical remains of nine 
individuals of Native American ancestry and four associated funerary 
objects in the museum's collections, described below in Information 
about cultural items, are culturally affiliated with the Confederated 
Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians of Oregon; 
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon; 
Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Reservation, Oregon; and Coquille 
Tribe of Oregon.
    The National Park Service publishes this notice on behalf of the 
museum as part of the National Park Service's administrative 
responsibilities under NAGPRA. The museum is solely responsible for 
information and determinations stated in this notice. The National Park 
Service is not responsible for the museum's determinations.
    Information about NAGPRA is available online at http://www.cr.nps.gov/nagpra.

DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items to the Indian tribes listed 
above in Summary may proceed after July 1, 2005 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 the museum before July 1, 2005.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Authority. 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq. and 43 CFR 
Part 10.
    Contact. Contact C. Melvin Aikens, Oregon State Museum of 
Anthropology, 1224 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1224, 
telephone (541) 346-5115, regarding determinations stated in this 
notice or to claim the cultural items described in this notice.
    Consultation. The museum identified the cultural items and the 
cultural affiliation of the cultural items in consultation with 
representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua 
and Siuslaw Indians of Oregon; Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde 
Community of Oregon; Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Reservation, 
Oregon; and Coquille Tribe of Oregon.
    Information about cultural items. At an unknown date, human remains 
representing a minimum of one individual were removed from the ``Coos 
Bay area'' and donated to the museum by a donor whose name is withheld 
by the museum. The status of the land at the time of removal is 
unknown. The Oregon State Museum accessioned the material into the 
collection at an unknown date. A map related to the human remains 
indicates the human remains were recovered from northwest of North 
Bend, Coos County, OR. No known individual was identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1933, human remains representing three individuals were removed 
by University of Oregon and amateur archeologists during legally 
authorized excavations from a village site near North Bend, Coos 
County, OR. The status of the land at the time of removal is unknown. 
Materials stored with the human remains may have been associated with 
the burial and are listed in the accession record as ``shell-mound 
refuse.'' No known individuals were identified. The two lots of 
associated funerary objects are one dentalium shell and fragments of 
shell, bone, and charred wood.
    In 1934, human remains representing a minimum of two individuals 
were removed from the Coos Bay area, Coos County, OR, and were donated 
to the museum by a donor whose name is withheld by the museum. The 
status of the land at the time of removal is unknown. The Oregon State 
Museum accessioned the material into the collection in 1934. 
Euroamerican items that were associated with the human remains but not 
donated to the museum indicate a historic or proto-historic date for 
the remains. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Based on associated funerary objects, archeological context, and 
skeletal morphology, the human remains have been determined to be 
Native American. Historic documents, continuities of material culture, 
ethnographic sources, and oral history indicate the Coos people have 
occupied the Coos Bay area since precontact times.
    In 1936, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed from Baker's Ranch, south of Heceta Head, Lane County, OR, 
by an unknown individual. The status of the land at the time of removal 
is unknown. The Oregon State Police brought the human remains to the 
museum, and the material was accessioned into the collection in 1936. 
No known individual was identified. The two associated funerary objects 
are one bone headscratcher and several unmodified sea lion bones.
    In 1952, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed from the area of Mapleton, Lane County, OR, and were 
donated to the museum by a donor whose name is withheld by the museum. 
The status of the land at the time of removal, is unknown. The Oregon 
State Museum accessioned the material into the collection in 1952. The 
remains of a fir post are recorded as being associated with the burial, 
but the post was not donated with the human remains. No known 
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1979 or sometime before, human remains representing one 
individual were removed from an unrecorded shell mound a half-mile 
north of the Oregon House Hotel, near Heceta Head, Lane County, OR, and 
were donated to the museum by a donor whose name is withheld by the 
museum. The status of the land at the time of removal is unknown. The 
Oregon State Museum accessioned the material into the collection in 
1979. No known individual was identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    Based on associated funerary objects, archeological context, and 
skeletal morphology, the human remains have been determined to be 
Native American. Historic documents, continuities of material culture, 
ethnographic sources, and oral history indicate the Siuslaw people have 
occupied the central Oregon coast area since precontact times.
    Determinations. Under 25 U.S.C. 3003, museum officials determined 
that the human remains represent the physical remains of nine 
individuals of Native American ancestry. Museum officials determined 
that the four objects are reasonably believed to have been

[[Page 31529]]

placed with or near individual human remains at the time of death or 
later as part of the death rite or ceremony. Museum officials 
determined that the human remains and associated funerary objects are 
culturally affiliated with the Indian tribes listed in Summary.
    Notification. The museum is responsible for sending a copy of this 
notice to the consulted Indian tribes listed above in Consultation.

    Dated: May 20, 2005.
Paul Hoffman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Fish and Wildlife and Parks
[FR Doc. 05-10801 Filed 5-31-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-S