[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 13, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 47237]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-18674]


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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 Stanley Mound, also 
known as Parkin site (3CS29), Cross County, AR.
    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 
Quapaw Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma.
    On an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from Stanley Mound in Cross County, AR. The 
human remains were donated to the Hastings Museum by an unknown donor 
and cataloged into the collection between 1926 and 1931. No known 
individual was identified. Museum records state that three pottery 
vessels were found with the human remains, but they were not 
accessioned into the collection. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    The human remains are of Native American descent. Dental attrition 
is consistent with an individual from the Mississippian period. 
Research provided by the Quapaw Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma, conducted 
through the Arkansas Archeological Survey, indicate that Stanley Mound 
is also known as the Parkin site (3CS29). The Parkin site was first 
excavated in 1879 and sits on land once owned by John Stanley (for 
which the mound was named). The site is one of the best preserved 
villages from the Mississippian period.
    The Parkin site is a fortified village located on the St. Francis 
River in northeastern Arkansas. The site consists of several mounds, 
and plazas surrounded by rows of houses. The site has yielded thousands 
of artifacts, including potsherds and complete grave pottery. Although 
the pottery was not accessioned into the Hastings Museum collection, 
the records show that they are consistent with other funerary objects 
found at the Parkin site. Researchers suggest that the Parkin site 
represents a late Mississippian chiefdom to the early Protohistoric 
Period, an era spanning from A.D. 1350 to 1600. The site is believed to 
be the village of Casqui, which was visited by Spanish explorer 
Hernando de Soto. French documents dating to circa A.D. 1700, indicate 
that the Quapaw were the only people to have villages along the St. 
Francis River in eastern Arkansas. Quapaw oral tradition supports this 
documentation.
    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 one individual 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 Quapaw Tribe of Indians, 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, PO 
Box 11286, Hastings, NE 68902, telephone (402) 461-2399, before 
September 12, 2008. Repatriation of the human remains to the Quapaw 
Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma may proceed after that date if no additional 
claimants come forward.
    The Hastings Museum is responsible for notifying the Quapaw Tribe 
of Indians, Oklahoma that this notice has been published.

    Dated: July 22, 2008
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E8-18674 Filed 8-12-08; 8:45 am]
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