[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 83 (Monday, May 1, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 25607]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-4047]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: American Museum of Natural 
History, New York, NY

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 
American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY. The human remains 
were collected from Morton and Oliver Counties, ND, and Hughes County, 
SD.
    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 American 
Museum of Natural History professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold 
Reservation, North Dakota.
    Prior to 1877, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were collected from a village site, Fort Lincoln, Morton 
County, ND, on the Missouri River. The human remains were collected by 
an unknown person. It is unclear how the museum received the remains. 
No known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    The individual has been identified as Native American based on 
museum documentation that describes the remains as ``Hidatsa?'' The 
human remains have not been dated, but originated from an area occupied 
during the early postcontact period by the Mandan people, who are now 
part of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, 
North Dakota. Given the description of their geographic origin, the 
human remains may have come from On-a-Slant Village, a Mandan 
settlement abandoned in 1781.
    In 1916, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were collected from Old Fort Clark in Oliver County, ND, by Rev. 
Gilbert L. Wilson. The American Museum of Natural History purchased the 
human remains from Rev. Wilson in 1917. No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    The individual has been identified as Native American based on 
geographic origin. The location of the human remains is consistent with 
the postcontact territory of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort 
Berthold Reservation, North Dakota. In 1827, most of the Arikara and 
some of the Mandan people settled near Fort Clark. An Arikara cemetery 
is present at Fort Clark. Based on the association of the human remains 
with historic Fort Clark, the remains are most likely postcontact.
    In 1939, human remains representing a minimum of six individuals 
were collected from the Arzberger site, Hughes County, SD, by Columbia 
University. The American Museum of Natural History acquired the human 
remains as a gift from Columbia University in 1964. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    The individuals have been identified as Native American based on 
geographic origin, mortuary practices, and catalog records. The catalog 
indicates the remains are ``probably Arikara.'' Flexed inhumations on 
elevated land forms immediately outside villages are consistent with 
late precontact and postcontact Arikara mortuary practices.
    Officials of the American Museum of Natural History have determined 
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains described 
above represent the physical remains of eight individuals of Native 
American ancestry. Officials of the American Museum of Natural History 
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 Three Affiliated 
Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Nell 
Murphy, Director of Cultural Resources, American Museum of Natural 
History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, 
telephone (212) 769-5837, before May 31, 2006. Repatriation of the 
human remains to the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold 
Reservation, North Dakota may proceed after that date if no additional 
claimants come forward.
    The American Museum of Natural History is responsible for notifying 
the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North 
Dakota that this notice has been published.

    Dated: March 24, 2006.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 06-4047 Filed 4-28-06; 8:45 am]
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