[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 104 (Wednesday, June 1, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 31523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-10821]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, 
Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Baker City, OR

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 
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Baker City, OR. The human remains were 
removed from Wallowa County, OR.
    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 in 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 in this notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Wallowa-
Whitman National Forest professional staff in consultation with the Nez 
Perce Tribe of Idaho.
    In June 1989, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from the Knight Creek site (35WA767), Wallowa 
County, OR. The Knight Creek site is located approximately 47 miles 
south of Lewiston, ID. The Knight Creek site was looted by an unknown 
individual or individuals during the summer or fall of 1984. The 1989 
archeological excavation was conducted by Central Washington 
University, under contract with the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, as 
part of a damage assessment study. After analysis at Central Washington 
University, the materials were returned to the Wallowa-Whitman National 
Forest and have been kept at the Hells Canyon National Recreation 
headquarters in Enterprise, OR. No known individual was identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Radiocarbon dates from the Knight Creek site range between B.P. 
1040 (+/-90 years) and 2,450 B.P. (+/-120 years). The Nez Perce Indians 
are believed to have occupied the area of Wallowa County, OR for over 
7,000 years. The Knight Creek site is located within the ancestral and 
traditional lands of the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho. Nothing was 
discovered at the site that would indicate that there was any cultural 
influence other than the Nez Perce people, which is represented today 
by the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho.
    Officials of the Wallowa-Whitman 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 Wallowa-Whitman 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 Nez Perce Tribe of 
Idaho.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Guy A. 
Marden, Forest Archaeologist, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, P.O. Box 
907, Baker City, OR 97814-3071, telephone (208) 885-3773, before July 
1, 2005. Repatriation of the human remains to the Nez Perce Tribe of 
Idaho may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come 
forward.
    Wallowa-Whitman National Forest is responsible for notifying the 
Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho that this notice has been published.

    Dated:May 20, 2005
Paul Hoffman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 05-10821 Filed 5-31-05; 8:45 am]
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