[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 62 (Monday, March 31, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16906-16907]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-6569]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington, DC, and The University Museum, 
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR

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 and associated funerary 
objects in the control of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau 
of Indian Affairs, Washington, DC, and in the physical custody of The 
University Museum, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR. The human 
remains and associated funerary objects were removed from the Gila 
River Indian Community near Sacaton, 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 and associated funerary objects. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by The 
University Museum professional staff, on behalf of the U.S. Department 
of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, in consultation with 
representatives of the Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River 
Indian Reservation, Arizona.
    Sometime between 1931 and 1934, human remains representing a 
minimum of two individuals were removed from a cremation feature at an 
unknown site in the vicinity of Sacaton (AZ U:14), Gila River 
Reservation, Pinal County, AZ, by Carl Moosberg. In 1935, the human 
remains were donated to the Arizona State Museum by Mr. Moosberg. In 
1954, the human remains were transferred to The University Museum in an 
exchange with the Arizona State Museum. No known individuals were 
identified. The two associated funerary objects are one red-on-buff jar 
and one Gila redware jar.
    Based on characteristics of the mortuary pattern and the attributes 
of the ceramic style, this burial has been identified as being 
associated with the Sedentary Phase of the Hohokam archeological 
tradition, which spanned the years circa A.D. 950-1150.
    Continuities of mortuary practices, ethnographic materials, and 
technology indicate affiliation of Hohokam settlements with present-day 
O'odham (Piman), Pee Posh (Maricopa), and Puebloan cultures. Oral 
traditions documented for the Ak Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa 
(Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; Gila River Indian Community of 
the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt 
River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, 
Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni 
Reservation, New Mexico support cultural affiliation with Hohokam sites 
in central Arizona. Descendants of the Hohokam 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; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa 
Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham 
Nation of Arizona; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.
    Officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and The University Museum 
have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human 
remains described above represent the physical remains of two 
individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of the Bureau of 
Indian Affairs and The University Museum also have determined that, 
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(A), the two 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 the Bureau of Indian Affairs and The 
University 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 associated 
funerary objects 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; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt

[[Page 16907]]

River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, 
Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni 
Reservation, New Mexico.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary 
objects should contact Mary Suter, Curator of Collections, The 
University Museum, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, 
telephone (479) 575-3481, before April 30, 2008. Repatriation of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects 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; 
Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the 
Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona; and 
Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico, may proceed after that 
date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The University 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; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian 
Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation 
of Arizona; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico that 
this notice has been published.

    Dated: February 28, 2008.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E8-6569 Filed 3-28-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-S