[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 19, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71948-71949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24613]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Hastings Museum of Natural and 
Cultural History, Hastings, NE

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 
Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History (Hastings Museum), 
Hastings, NE. The human remains were removed from the Cass, Franklin, 
Nance, Sarpy Counties, NE and Republican County, KS.
    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 Hastings 
Museum professional staff in consultation with representatives of the 
Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort 
Berthold Reservation, North Dakota.
    On September 17, 1922, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from the Milo Hill farm (25FR1) in Franklin 
County, NE. At an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of 
four individuals were removed from the same site. The human remains for 
all five individuals were donated to the Hastings Museum by Milo Hill 
and cataloged between 1926 and 1931 (02873, 03259, 03260). No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Research conducted at the Nebraska State Historical Society 
identifies the Milo Hill Site (25FR1) as similar to other Central 
Plains Tradition sites. Museum officials have determined based on 
museum records, Pawnee oral tradition, and anthropological research 
that the Central Plains Tradition people are ancestors to the Arikara 
and Pawnee, and possibly the Wichita.
    In September 1913, human remains representing a minimum of three 
individuals were removed from Plattsmouth Ossuary (25CC9001) in Cass 
County, NE, by Dr. E.H. Barbour, University of Nebraska, and taken to 
the University of Nebraska State Museum. The human remains were traded 
to A.M. Brooking, founder of the Hastings Museum. Mr. Brooking later 
donated his collection to the Hastings Museum and cataloged the human 
remains between 1926 and 1931 (01713). No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    University of Nebraska State Museum attributed the Plattsmouth 
Ossuary site to the Nebraska Culture of the Central Plains Tradition 
due to the burial location and the manner of group interment. Museum 
officials have determined, based on museum records, that the human 
remains are associated with the Plattsmouth Ossuary and therefore are 
affiliated with the Central Plains Tradition. Museum officials have 
determined based on Pawnee oral tradition and anthropological research 
that the Central Plains Tradition people are ancestors to the Arikara 
and Pawnee, and possibly the Wichita.
    On May 8, 1908, human remains representing a minim of two 
individuals were removed from Wallace Mound (25SY67) in Sarpy County, 
NE, by J.E. Wallace. The human remains were donated to the museum by 
Mr. Wallace and cataloged between 1926 and 1931 (01609). No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects were 
present.
    The Wallace Mound Site (25SY67) was located near Bellevue's 
railroad station up a ridge from Coffin Springs. Mr. Wallace began 
excavations and later contacted the University of Nebraska State 
Museum. Most of the human remains were donated to University of 
Nebraska State Museum where the site was identified as a Central Plains 
Tradition site. Hastings Museum officials agree with this 
identification of the Wallace Mound site.
    On an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of two 
individuals were removed from unknown sites near Genoa in Nance County, 
NE. The human remains were donated to the Hastings Museum by A.M. 
Brooking between 1926 and 1931 (03268, 04789). No known individuals 
were identified. No associated funerary objects were present.
    On an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from a grave on the Frank Lowe farm, 2 miles 
north of Genoa, Nance County, NE. The human remains were given to the 
Hastings Museum by Frank Lowe and cataloged in 1934 (12813). No known 
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    On an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of one

[[Page 71949]]

individual were removed from a Skidi village near Genoa, Nance County, 
NE. The human remains were donated to the Hastings Museum by A.M. 
Brooking and cataloged in 1942 (22316). No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects were present.
    Numerous sites in Nance County are attributed to a number of 
cultures, including Central Plains Tradition and historic Pawnee. This 
is also the location of the last land the Pawnee Tribe occupied prior 
to moving to Oklahoma. Museum officials have determined, based on 
museum records, that the human remains are likely associated with the 
Pawnee or Central Plains Tradition. Museum officials have determined 
based on Pawnee oral tradition and anthropological research that the 
Central Plains Tradition people are ancestors to the Arikara and 
Pawnee, and possibly the Wichita.
    On an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from a site in Republican County, KS. The human 
remains were donated to the museum by an unknown donor and cataloged in 
1936 (14694). No known individual was identified. No associated 
funerary objects were present.
    Republican County has been the home of the Central Plains Tradition 
and the Kitkehahki (Republican) band of the Pawnee. The human remains 
may be associated with the large Pawnee village at the Kansas Monument 
site. Museum officials have determined, based on museum records, that 
the human remains are likely associated with the Pawnee or Central 
Plains Tradition.
    The Central Plains Tradition was a culture that lived on the plains 
of Nebraska and Kansas. The culture abruptly enters the archeological 
records about A.D. 1,000. By about A.D. 1,400, the people leave the 
area and head north. Their move brought them into land occupied by the 
Middle Missouri Culture (in what is now the Dakotas), which, to some 
extent, merged with other groups over time. The new culture that 
emerged from this contact is probably the people who are ancestors to 
the Arikara and Pawnee, and possibly the Wichita. Museum officials have 
determined based on museum records, Pawnee oral tradition, and 
anthropological research that the Central Plains Tradition people are 
ancestors to the Arikara and Pawnee, and possibly the Wichita. The 
Arikara people eventually settled with the Mandan and Hidatsa and are 
now members of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold 
Reservation, North Dakota. Descendants of the Pawnee are members of the 
Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma. The descendants of the Wichita are members 
of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco & 
Tawakonie), Oklahoma.
    The Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort 
Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; and Wichita and Affiliated Tribes 
(Wichita, Keechi, Waco & Tawakonie), Oklahoma have entered into an 
agreement that human remains and funerary objects located between the 
Missouri River and the Smokey Hill River shall be claimed by the Pawnee 
Nation of Oklahoma.
    Officials of the Hastings Museum have determined that, pursuant to 
25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains described above represent the 
physical remains of 15 individuals of Native American ancestry. 
Officials of the Hastings Museum 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 Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort 
Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; and Wichita and Affiliated Tribes 
(Wichita, Keechi, Waco & Tawakonie), Oklahoma.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Teresa 
Kreutzer-Hodson, Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History, 1330 
N Burlington, PO Box 1286, Hastings, NE 68902, (402) 461-2399, before 
January 18, 2008. Repatriation of the human remains to the Pawnee 
Nation of Oklahoma may proceed after that date if no additional 
claimants come forward.
    The Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History is responsible 
for notifying the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Three Affiliated Tribes of 
the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; and Wichita and Affiliated 
Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco & Tawakonie), Oklahoma that this notice 
has been published.

    Dated: October 1, 2007.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E7-24613 Filed 12-18-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-S