[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 204 (Tuesday, October 21, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62533-62535]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-24961]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Denver Department 
of Anthropology and Museum of Anthropology, Denver, CO; Correction

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; correction.

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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 possession of the University of Denver Department of 
Anthropology and Museum of Anthropology, Denver, CO.
    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 cultural 
items. 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 of Denver Department of Anthropology and Museum of 
Anthropology professional staff in consultation with representatives of 
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service; U.S. Department of 
the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs; U.S. Department of the 
Interior, Bureau of Land Management; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Jicarilla 
Apache Nation, New Mexico; Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico & Utah; 
Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico (formerly Pueblo of San Juan); Pueblo of 
Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico; Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa 
Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the 
Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute 
Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah; Ysleta Del Sur 
Pueblo of Texas; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico. 
The museum also sent reports and solicited feedback via telephone and 
correspondence with representatives from Colorado River Indian Tribes 
of the Colorado River Indian Reservation, Arizona and California; 
Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico; Pueblo 
of San Ildefonso, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New Mexico; and 
Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas.
    This notice corrects a Notice of Inventory Completion published in 
the Federal Register of October 9, 2001 (FR Doc 01-25140, pages 51472-
51474) by deleting paragraphs 4-6, and 11-12, and substituting 
paragraphs 7-10 and 13-15. The original notice is corrected because 
after further consideration of museum

[[Page 62534]]

records, consultation with tribal representatives and Federal agency 
officials, the controller for a minimum of two individuals of the 
original nine individuals described in the notice was misattributed and 
the cultural affiliation for the remaining seven individuals was 
incorrect.
    In consultation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest 
Service; U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs; and 
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, the museum 
has determined that control of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects in paragraphs 11 and 12 is misattributed for DU 6015 
and DU 6066 per 43 CFR 10.2 (a)(3)(ii), see the Notice of Inventory 
Completion published in the Federal Register on August 21, 2008, (FR 
Doc E8-19319, pages 49485-49486), published by the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, San Juan National Forest, Durango, CO. The museum has also 
determined that the cultural affiliation conclusions for human remains 
and associated funerary objects referenced in the notice are incorrect 
as defined at 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2). Based on this information, paragraphs 
11 and 12 are deleted from the original notice of October 9, 2001, (FR 
Doc 01-25140, pages 51472-51474). Further discussions with the U.S. 
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs are taking place 
regarding the human remains identified as DU UT W: 10:2, and a separate 
notice will be published with that determination.
    After October 9, 2001, museum officials contracted a research 
archeologist and conducted additional consultations with tribal 
representatives. After further consideration of the evidence and tribal 
input, museum officials have determined that the cultural affiliation 
of the remaining seven individuals and associated funerary objects are 
incorrect as defined at 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2).
    Museum officials have determined that the human remains 
representing a minimum of four individuals referenced in paragraphs 4-6 
(DU6002, DU6180, DU1995.1.7a-b, and DU CO Y:6:15) taken from the San 
Luis Valley, CO, are human remains that are of Native American 
ancestry, but that there is not sufficient available evidence that can 
lead to a reasonable assignment of cultural affiliation, and are 
therefore culturally unidentifiable. Museum officials have determined 
that without further information regarding archeological context and 
dating or material culture, the evidence surrounding the human remains 
does not provide enough data to assign cultural affiliation. The San 
Luis Valley is an area that was visited and inhabited by a number of 
tribes over time and the evidence does not provide definitive clues. 
This conclusion was supported in tribal consultation and by Douglas 
Bowman, Southwestern archeologist contracted with the Ute Mountain 
Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah. 
Based on this information, paragraphs 4-6 are deleted from the original 
notice of October 9, 2001 (FR Doc 01-25140, pages 51472-51474).
    Museum officials have determined that the human remains 
representing a minimum of three individuals referenced in paragraphs 7-
10 (DU CO X:16:12 and DU CO V:9:GEA) have a cultural affiliation that 
can be narrowed to the present-day Pueblo tribes. The original notice 
of October 9, 2001 (FR Doc 01-25140, pages 51472-51474) is corrected by 
replacing paragraphs 7-10 with the following:
    In 1950, human remains representing one individual (catalog number 
DU CO X:16:12) were recovered from site 5CN26, Conejos County, CO, 
probably by Harry Christopher Meyers, Jr. who recorded the site card 
and conducted a survey of the area for his master's thesis. Mr. Meyers' 
thesis is on file at the University of Denver, Department of 
Anthropology, dated May 1950. In his thesis, Mr. Meyers thanks Mr. 
Mercedes Ortiz, of Conejos, CO, for his aid in ``the survey'' of 
portions of the San Luis Valley. Mr. Ortiz is likely a local land owner 
who acted as a guide. Although the thesis provides a likely contextual 
framework for the areas examined and the types of sites recorded, site 
5CN26 was recovered in August 1950 and is not referenced in any report. 
No known individual was identified. The nine associated funerary 
objects are seven black-on-white sherds, one obsidian core, and one 
chipped stone.
    The site card describes a cave with an opening onto a flat plain, 
dropping down over 10 feet. The interior of the cave is reported to 
consist of four rooms containing dry laid stone walls, lithic debitage, 
and pottery sherds. The main, or upper room, is described as opening 
directly off of the opening. Its walls were apparently about 2 1/2 feet 
high. The three other rooms appear to be contiguous, extending back 
inside the cave. An attempt to relocate site 5CN26 was undertaken by an 
unknown individual at an unknown date (presumably after the mid 1980s 
based on the form used). Notes of this visit to the area are recorded 
on a Cultural Resource Reevaluation Form on file at the Colorado Office 
of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. The researcher notes that the 
legal location data on the old site card was poor, so the southern half 
of the listed section and the northern half of the neighboring section 
were extensively searched, but ``no evidence of the site could be 
found.''
    Black-on-white pottery indicates this site is ancestral Puebloan. 
The scientific literature provides significant evidence of cultural 
affiliation between ancestral Puebloan culture and the Pueblos of 
today. Mr. Meyers' thesis work was specifically looking for Puebloan 
sites. Additionally, a likely source for the obsidian is New Mexico, 
which further supports a Puebloan affiliation.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing two individuals 
(catalog number DU CO V:9:GEA) were recovered from a site at the edge 
of McElmo Canyon, Montezuma County, CO, 20 miles northwest of Mesa 
Verde, by Faye Conklin, a graduate of the University of Denver. No 
known individuals were identified. The 50 associated funerary objects 
are 1 black-on-white pottery bowl, 1 black-on-white pottery bowl 
fragment, 1 black-on-white pottery jar fragment, 25 black-on-white 
sherds, 3 redware sherds, 1 nonhuman bone, 4 nonhuman bone fragments, 1 
piece of wood, 8 pieces of cordage, 3 beans, and 2 corn kernels.
    Black-on-white pottery, beans, and corn indicate this site is 
ancestral Puebloan. The scientific literature provides significant 
evidence of cultural affiliation between ancestral Puebloan culture and 
the Pueblos of today.
    Based on the preponderance of evidence, including archeology, 
architecture, material culture, oral traditions, and expert opinion, 
officials of the University of Denver Museum of Anthropology and Museum 
of Anthropology have reasonably determined that the Native American 
human remains (catalog numbers DU CO X:16:12 and U CO V:9:GEA) are 
ancestral Puebloan. Descendants of ancestral Puebloan culture are 
members of the present-day tribes of the Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Ohkay 
Owingeh, New Mexico (formerly Pueblo of San Juan); Pueblo of Acoma, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Nambe, New Mexico; Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; Pueblo of Pojoaque, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Ildefonso, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; and

[[Page 62535]]

Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.
    The original notice of October 9, 2001, (FR Doc 01-25140, pages 
51472-51474) is corrected by replacing paragraphs 13-15 with the 
following:
    Officials of the University of Denver Department of Anthropology 
and Museum of Anthropology have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 
3001 (9-10), the human remains described above represent the physical 
remains of a minimum of three individuals of Native American ancestry. 
Officials of the University of Denver Department of Anthropology and 
Museum of Anthropology also have determined that, pursuant to 25 
U.S.C.3001 (3)(A), the 59 objects described above are reasonably 
believed to have been placed with or near the individual human remains 
at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony. 
Lastly, officials of the University of Denver Department of 
Anthropology and Museum of Anthropology have determined that, pursuant 
to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), the preponderance of the evidence supports a 
relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced 
between the Native American human remains and associated funerary 
objects and the Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico 
(formerly Pueblo of San Juan); Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; Pueblo of Jemez, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico; Pueblo 
of San Felipe, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New Mexico; Pueblo 
of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa 
Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; 
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 Dr. Christina Kreps, University of Denver Museum 
of Anthropology, Sturm 146, Denver, CO 80208, telephone (303) 871-2688, 
before November 20, 2008. Repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects to the Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Ohkay 
Owingeh, New Mexico; Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Picuris, New Mexico; Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico; Pueblo of San 
Felipe, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa 
Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; 
and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico may proceed after 
that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The University of Denver Department of Anthropology and Museum of 
Anthropology is responsible for notifying the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Forest Service; U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of 
Indian Affairs; U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land 
Management; Colorado River Indian Tribes of the Colorado River Indian 
Reservation, Arizona and California; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Jicarilla 
Apache Nation, New Mexico; Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico & Utah; 
Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico (formerly Pueblo of San Juan); Pueblo of 
Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico; Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Pojoaque, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico; Pueblo of San 
Ildefonso, New Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa 
Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo 
Domingo, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians 
of Utah; Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, 
Colorado; Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation, Utah; Ute 
Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & 
Utah; Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni 
Reservation, New Mexico that this notice has been published.

    Dated: October 6, 2008.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E8-24961 Filed 10-20-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-S