[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 164 (Friday, August 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48669-48670]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-16782]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological 
Repository, Kodiak, AK

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 
Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository, Kodiak, AK. The human 
remains were removed from Long Island in the Kodiak Island archipelago, 
AK.
    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 Alutiiq 
Museum and Archaeological Repository professional staff in consultation 
with representatives of the Koniag, Inc.; Leisnoi, Inc.; Lesnoi Village 
(aka Woody Island); Natives of Kodiak, Inc.; and Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak 
(formerly the Shoonaq' Tribe of Kodiak).
    In May 1991, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed from most likely the beach or from the eroding bank of 49-
KOD-00023, Vera Bay on Long Island, AK, by Father Peter Kreta, a 
Russian Orthodox Priest. Father Kreta took the human remains to 
archeologist Dr. Richard Knecht at the Kodiak Area Native Association's 
Alutiiq Center where they were stored until 1995. In 1995, the human 
remains were transferred to the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological 
Repository where they are currently stored (accession number AM60). No 
known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects were 
present.
    Humic staining on the cranium indicates that the human remains were 
once buried. Long Island lies in Chiniak Bay in the northeastern Kodiak 
archipelago of Alaska and within the traditional territory of the 
Kodiak Alutiiq people. The human remains are reasonably believed to be 
associated with 49-KOD-00023, a known prehistoric site. Artifact finds 
from the site indicate that it dates to the Late Kachemak phase of the 
Kachemak tradition, somewhere between 2,700 and 800 years old. 
Archeological surveys of this site indicate that it contains two areas 
of midden deposits - one of which rests directly behind the modern 
beach. This section of the site has been potted heavily and is eroding 
thereby scattering materials onto the beach. Archeologists believe that 
the people of the Late Kachemak tradition are ancestors of modern day 
Alutiiqs. Archeological data collected over the past 20 years indicates 
that Late Kachemak phase societies evolved into the more complexly 
organized societies of the Koniag tradition observed at historic 
contact in the late 18th century. As such, the human remains are 
reasonably believed to be Native American and most closely affiliated 
with the contemporary Native residents of the Kodiak archipelago, the 
Kodiak Alutiiq. Specifically, the human remains are from an area 
traditionally used by members of Koniag, Inc.; Leisnoi, Inc.; Lesnoi 
Village; Natives of Kodiak, Inc.; and Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak.
    In 1993, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed from Long Island, AK, by Barb Zickuhr. In February 1995, 
the human remains were turned over to the Alaska State Troopers. After 
completion of an investigation, the Alaska State Troopers transferred 
human remains to Dr. Richard Knecht at the Kodiak Area Native 
Association's Alutiiq Culture Center. In April of 1995, the human 
remains were transferred to the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological 
Repository where they are currently stored (accession number AM58). No 
known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Long Island lies in Chiniak Bay in the northeastern Kodiak 
archipelago within the traditional territory of the Kodiak Alutiiq 
people. The human remains are humic stained with heavily worn teeth and 
no evidence of modern dentistry, characteristics common to early 
historic and prehistoric times. Archeological sites on Long Island 
contain deposits spanning Kodiak's prehistoric and historic eras. Most 
archeologists believe that the region's cultural sequence represents a 
period of evolutionary growth with the earliest colonizers evolving 
into the Alutiiq societies recorded at historic contact over a 7,500 
year period. As such, the human remains are reasonably believed to be 
from a prehistoric Alutiiq person and most closely affiliated with the 
contemporary Native residents of the Kodiak archipelago, the Kodiak 
Alutiiq. Specifically, the human remains were recovered from an area 
traditionally

[[Page 48670]]

used by members of Koniag, Inc.; Leisnoi, Inc.; Lesnoi Village; Natives 
of Kodiak, Inc.; and Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak.
    Officials of the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains 
described above represent the physical remains of at least two 
individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of the Alutiiq 
Museum and Archaeological Repository 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 Koniag, Inc.; Leisnoi, Inc.; Lesnoi Village; 
Natives of Kodiak, Inc.; and Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Dr. Sven 
Haakanson, Jr., Executive Director, Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological 
Repository, 215 Mission Rd., Suite 101, Kodiak, AK 99615, telephone 
(907) 486-7004, before September 24, 2007. Repatriation of the human 
remains to the Koniag, Inc.; Leisnoi, Inc.; Lesnoi Village; Natives of 
Kodiak, Inc.; and Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak may proceed after that date if 
no additional claimants come forward.
    The Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository is responsible for 
notifying the Koniag, Inc.; Leisnoi, Inc.; Lesnoi Village; Natives of 
Kodiak, Inc.; and Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: August 6, 2007.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E7-16782 Filed 8-23-07; 8:45 am]
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