[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 37 (Monday, February 25, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10052-10053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-3459]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Arizona State Museum, University 
of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

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 and 
control of the Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. 
The human remains were removed from Pima County, AZ.
    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 Arizona 
State Museum professional staff in consultation with representatives of 
the Ak Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian 
Reservation, Arizona; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River 
Indian Reservation, Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community 
of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; and Tohono O'odham Nation of 
Arizona. The Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona is acting on behalf of 
the Ak Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian 
Reservation, Arizona; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River 
Indian Reservation, Arizona, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community 
of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; and themselves.
    In 1967, human remains representing a minimum of 38 individuals 
were removed from the Mission San Xavier del Bac site, AZ 
AA:16:10(ASM), within the boundaries of the San Xavier Indian 
Reservation in Pima County, AZ, during legally authorized excavations 
conducted by the Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona, and 
Arizona State Museum under the direction of Bernard L. Fontana. The 
human remains and other project materials were donated to the Arizona 
State Museum in 1967. In 2005, Arizona State Museum curatorial staff 
examined the animal bone collections from the excavations at Mission 
San Xavier del Bac and discovered human remains from non-burial 
contexts. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    The site is on church owned property and is not under the control 
of the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. The 
majority of the artifacts recovered from the excavations at the San 
Xavier Mission site were associated with a late historic period 
occupation, after A.D. 1700. Cranial and dental morphology of the 
skeletal remains is consistent with Native American ancestry.
    At the time of Spanish entry into southern Arizona in the late 17th 
century, the lands currently under the jurisdiction of the Tohono 
O'odham Nation were occupied by O'odham-speaking populations. The same 
populations have continued to occupy these lands throughout the 
historic period. The human remains removed from the Mission San Xavier 
del Bac site are from historic times. Cultural continuity between the 
historic occupants of the region and present day O'odham and Pee-Posh 
peoples is supported by continuities in settlement pattern, 
architectural technologies, basketry, textiles, ceramic technology, 
ritual practices, and oral traditions. The descendants of the historic 
O'odham

[[Page 10053]]

and Pee-Posh are members of the Ak Chin Indian Community of the 
Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; Gila River Indian 
Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Salt River 
Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; 
and Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona.
    Officials of the Arizona State Museum have determined that, 
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains described above 
represent the physical remains of 38 individuals of Native American 
ancestry. Officials of the Arizona State Museum 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 Ak Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak 
Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; Gila River Indian Community of the 
Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian 
Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; and Tohono O'odham 
Nation of Arizona.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact John 
Madsen, Repatriation Coordinator, Arizona State Museum, University of 
Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, telephone (520) 621-4795, before March 26, 
2008. Repatriation of the human remains to the Ak Chin Indian Community 
of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; Gila River 
Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Salt 
River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, 
Arizona; and Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona may proceed after that 
date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The Arizona State Museum is responsible for notifying the Ak Chin 
Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; 
Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, 
Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River 
Reservation, Arizona; and Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona that this 
notice has been published.

    Dated: December 19, 2007
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E8-3459 Filed 2-22-08; 8:45 am]
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