[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 13, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47224-47225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-18675]


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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 Anton Larsen Bay, Kodiak Island, 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 the Alutiiq 
Museum and Archaeological Repository professional staff in consultation 
with representatives of the Afognak Native Corporation; Native Village 
of Afognak (formerly the Village of Afognak); Anton Larsen, Inc.; 
Koniag, Inc.; Ouzinkie

[[Page 47225]]

Native Corporation; Native Village of Ouzinkie; and Native Village of 
Port Lions.
    In the winter of 1962, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from an unknown archeological site in Anton 
Larsen Bay on Kodiak Island, AK, by David Bowen, a Navy pilot deployed 
in Kodiak. In January 2008, after discovering the remains were human, 
Mr. Bowen relinquished it to the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological 
Repository to determine cultural affiliation and assist with 
repatriation, at the request of Koniag, Inc., the regional ANCSA 
corporation. Upon arrival at the museum, the remains were examined and 
confirmed as human. No known individual was identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Although there is not enough information to definitively ascertain 
from which archeological site the human remains were collected, the 
donor's description of his collecting activity suggest that it is 
likely from 49-KOD-00043, the Kizhuyak site, or 49-KOD-00044, the Crag 
Point site. Both sites contain extensive, eroding and well-preserved, 
prehistoric midden deposits that are known to have included human 
remains. Mr. Bowen reported collecting the human remains from such a 
deposit, which research at both sites has shown date to the Late 
Kachemak (circa 2,700 B.P. to 900 B.P.) and Koniag (900 B.P. to 
historic contact) traditions. Archeologists believe that the people of 
the Late Kachemak and Koniag traditions are ancestors of modern day 
Alutiiqs. Archeological data collected over the past 20 years indicates 
that Late Kachemak 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 from Anton Larsen Bay are 
reasonably believed to be Native American and most closely affiliated 
with the contemporary Native residents of the Kodiak archipelago, the 
Kodiak Alutiiq. Specifically, they were recovered from an area of the 
Kodiak Archipelago traditionally used by members of the Afognak Native 
Corporation; Native Village of Afognak (formerly the Village of 
Afognak); Anton Larsen, Inc.; Koniag, Inc.; Ouzinkie Native 
Corporation; Native Village of Ouzinkie; and Native Village of Port 
Lions.
    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 one individual 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 Afognak Native Corporation; Native Village of Afognak (formerly the 
Village of Afognak); Anton Larsen, Inc.; Koniag, Inc.; Ouzinkie Native 
Corporation; Native Village of Ouzinkie; and Native Village of Port 
Lions.
    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 12, 2008. Repatriation of the human 
remains to the Afognak Native Corporation; Native Village of Afognak 
(formerly the Village of Afognak); Anton Larsen, Inc.; Koniag, Inc.; 
Ouzinkie Native Corporation; Native Village of Ouzinkie; and Native 
Village of Port Lions may proceed after that date if no additional 
claimants come forward.
    The Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository is responsible for 
notifying the Afognak Native Corporation; Native Village of Afognak 
(formerly the Village of Afognak); Anton Larsen, Inc.; Koniag, Inc.; 
Ouzinkie Native Corporation; Native Village of Ouzinkie; and Native 
Village of Port Lions that this notice has been published.

    Dated: July 14, 2008
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E8-18675 Filed 8-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-S