[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 15, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13428-13430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-3704]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, Mesa Verde National Park, Mesa Verde, CO

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice is here given in accordance with provisions of the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 
3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains and associated 
funerary objects in the control of the U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, Mesa Verde National Park, Mesa Verde, CO. The 
human remains and associated funerary objects were found in Mesa Verde 
National Park's collections, mailed anonymously, removed from unknown 
locations and Montezuma County, CO.
    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 
superintendent, Mesa Verde National Park.
    Mesa Verde National Park professional staff identified the cultural 
items and assessed the cultural affiliation of the cultural items in

[[Page 13429]]

consultation with representatives of the Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Navajo 
Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah; Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Jemez, New Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; Pueblo of Nambe, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Juan, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Zia, New Mexico; Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute 
Reservation, Colorado; Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain 
Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico, & Utah; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni 
Reservation, New Mexico. The Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico; Pueblo 
of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; and Ysleta Del 
Sur Pueblo of Texas were unable to attend the Native American 
consultation meetings, but they requested and received the minutes of 
these proceedings.
    In 1926, human remains representing a minimum of five individuals 
were received as part of a large collection of prehistoric and 
ethnographic items donated to Mesa Verde National Park by a private 
citizen from Durango, CO. The human remains are from an unknown 
provenience. Osteological data cannot identify cultural affiliation. No 
known individuals were identified. The one associated funerary object 
is a faunal bone.
    In 1948, human remains representing a minimum of two individuals 
were received at Mesa Verde National Park from a private citizen from 
Mancos, CO. The human remains were reportedly removed from a burial 
site about five miles north of Mesa Verde National Park's entrance in 
Montezuma County, CO. Exact provenience is unknown. Osteological data 
cannot identify cultural affiliation. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1984, human remains representing a minimum of five individuals 
were anonymously mailed to Mesa Verde National Park. The provenience 
for the human remains is unknown. Osteological data cannot identify 
cultural affiliation. No known individuals were identified. The 
cultural items that were commingled with the human remains are 
undiagnostic. The 49 associated funerary objects are 47 faunal bone 
fragments and 2 small pieces of wood.
    In 1989, human remains representing a minimum of three individuals 
were received from Centuries Research in Montrose, CO, by Mesa Verde 
National Park. The provenience of the human remains is unknown. 
Osteological data cannot identify cultural affiliation. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    In 1991, human remains representing a minimum of three individuals 
were received at Mesa Verde National Park from an anonymous donor. 
Information with the material indicated that the human remains were 
collected during the early 1900s by the donor's grandfather who worked 
for the Montezuma County Road Department. The provenience for the human 
remains is unknown. Osteological data cannot identify cultural 
affiliation. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    In 1995, human remains representing a minimum of three individuals 
were found by curatorial staff conducting NAGPRA inventory in the Mesa 
Verde Research Center. The provenience for the human remains is 
unknown. Osteological data cannot identify cultural affiliation. No 
known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    In 2001, human remains representing a minimum of three individuals 
were found in the Mesa Verde Research Center during the storage upgrade 
project. One item had been transferred to Mesa Verde Research Center by 
the University of Denver Department of Anthropology and Museum of 
Anthropology, Denver, CO; the other two individuals had no 
documentation. The provenience for the human remains is unknown. 
Osteological data cannot identify cultural affiliation. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Officials of Mesa Verde National Park have determined that, 
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains described above 
represent the physical remains of 24 individuals of Native American 
ancestry. Officials of Mesa Verde National Park also have determined 
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(A), the 50 objects described above 
are reasonably believed to have been placed with or near individual 
human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite 
or ceremony. Lastly, officials of Mesa Verde National Park have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), a relationship of 
shared group identity cannot reasonably be traced between the Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects and any present-
day Indian tribe.
    The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review 
Committee (Review Committee) is responsible for recommending specific 
actions for disposition of culturally unidentifiable human remains. In 
February 2006, Mesa Verde National Park requested that the Review 
Committee recommend repatriation of the 24 culturally unidentifiable 
human remains and 50 associated funerary objects to the Hopi Tribe of 
Arizona; Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah; Pueblo of Acoma, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico; Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Pojoaque, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico; Pueblo of San 
Ildefonso, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Juan, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa 
Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; 
Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, 
New Mexico. These 22 Indian tribes had requested the human remains and 
have demonstrated a cultural relationship to the region. The Review 
Committee considered the proposal at its March 3, 2006 meeting via 
teleconference, and recommended disposition of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects to the Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Navajo 
Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah; Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Jemez, New Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; Pueblo of Nambe, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of San Juan, New Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Santa Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Santo Domingo, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo 
of Texas; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico. The 
National Park Service intends to convey the 50 associated funerary 
objects to the tribes pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 18f-2.
    A March 3, 2006, letter from the Designated Federal Official on 
behalf of the chair of the Review Committee to the superintendent of 
Mesa Verde National Park transmitted the Review

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Committee's recommendation that the park effect disposition of the 
physical remains of 24 culturally unidentifiable individuals and 50 
associated funerary objects to the 22 Indian tribes listed above 
contingent on the publication of a Notice of Inventory Completion in 
the Federal Register. This notice fulfills that requirement.
    Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary 
objects should contact Larry Wiese, superintendent, Mesa Verde National 
Park, PO Box 8, Mesa Verde, CO 81330, telephone (970) 529-4600, before 
April 14, 2006. Disposition of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects to the Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Navajo Nation, Arizona, 
New Mexico, & Utah; Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Picuris, New Mexico; Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico; Pueblo of San 
Felipe, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New Mexico; Pueblo of San 
Juan, New Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo Domingo, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; 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.
    Mesa Verde National Park is responsible for notifying the Hopi 
Tribe of Arizona; Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah; Pueblo of 
Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico; Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Pojoaque, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico; Pueblo of San 
Ildefonso, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Juan, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa 
Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; 
Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; 
Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New 
Mexico, & Utah; Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and Zuni Tribe of the 
Zuni Reservation, New Mexico that this notice has been published.

    Dated: March 7, 2006.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E6-3704 Filed 3-14-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-S