[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 160 (Thursday, August 20, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42102-42103]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-19977]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Alaska State Office, Bureau of 
Land Management, Anchorage, AK; Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological 
Repository, Kodiak, AK; and University of Wisconsin Anthropology 
Department Curation Facility, Madison, WI

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 under the control of the 
Alaska State Office, Bureau of Land Management, Anchorage, AK, and in 
the physical custody of the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological 
Repository, Kodiak, AK; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; and 
the University of Wisconsin Anthropology Department Curation Facility, 
Madison, WI. The human remains were removed from Sitkalidak Island and 
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 Alaska 
State Office, Bureau of Land Management; Alutiiq Museum and 
Archaeological Repository; Smithsonian Institution; and University of 
Wisconsin Anthropology Department Curation Facility professional staff 
in consultation with the Native Village of Old Harbor, Old Harbor 
Native Corporation, and Koniag, Inc.
    In 1960, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed from the Rolling Bay site (49-KOD-00101) on Sitkalidak 
Island, AK, by Drs. William Laughlin and J.B. Jorgensen. The human 
remains are currently at the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological 
Repository, Kodiak, AK. No known individual was identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1961, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed from the Rolling Bay site (49-KOD-00101) on Sitkalidak 
Island, AK, during excavations in association with Dr. Donald Clark. 
The human remains are currently at the Alutiiq Museum and 
Archaeological Repository, Kodiak, AK. No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    During 1960-1962, human remains representing a minimum of 44 
individuals were removed from the Rolling Bay site (49-KOD-00101) on 
Sitkalidak Island, AK, during excavations associated with the now-
deceased Dr. William Laughlin. The human remains are currently at the 
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    All the sets of human remains from the Rolling Bay site presently 
at the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository and the Smithsonian 
Institution had originally been sent, following their excavation, to 
the University of Wisconsin's Department of Anthropology for study and 
storage, under the care of Dr. William Laughlin. When Dr. Laughlin 
later moved to the University of Connecticut at Storrs, he took two 
sets of human remains; the other 44 individuals remained at the 
University of Wisconsin's Department of Anthropology. In the late 
1990s, following Dr. Laughlin's retirement, the two sets of human 
remains then at the University of Connecticut at Storrs were 
transported to the Museum of the Aleutians in Unalaska, AK, where they 
were deposited in the care of archeologist Dr. Richard Knecht. In 
approximately 2000, the human remains were sent by Dr. Knecht to the 
Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository, where they are currently 
stored. In 2006, the 44 individuals at the University of Wisconsin's 
Department of Anthropology were sent to the Smithsonian Institution, 
where they are currently stored.
    In 1963, human remains representing one individual were removed 
from the Sitkalidak site (49-KOD-00121) located along Ocean Bay, on 
Sitkalidak Island, AK, during excavations by archeologists thought to 
be associated with the University of Wisconsin. The human remains are 
currently in the University of Wisconsin Department of Anthropology 
Curation Facility. No known individual was identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    In 1964 or 1965, human remains representing one individual were 
removed from the Saltery Cove 1 site (49-KOD-00062), in the Saltery 
Cove region of Kodiak Island, AK, during excavations by archeologists 
thought to be associated with the University of Wisconsin. The human 
remains are currently in the University of Wisconsin Department of 
Anthropology Curation Facility. No known individual was identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Both sets of human remains from the Sitkalidak and Saltery Cove 
sites presently housed at the University of Wisconsin Anthropology 
Department Curation Facility had originally been sent, following their 
excavation, to the University of Wisconsin Department of Anthropology 
for study and storage. They were under the care of Dr. William 
Laughlin, and they remained at this facility following his death. In 
2008, the human remains were identified and inventoried.
    The Rolling Bay site lies on the coast of Sitkalidak Island on the 
southeastern shores of Alaska's Kodiak archipelago. Drs. Laughlin and 
Jorgensen visited the site in 1960, and collected eroding human 
skeletal remains from prehistoric deposits. Additional archeological 
work followed in 1961-1962. Later excavations by Dr. Clark, showed that 
the deposits at the Rolling Bay site belong to the Koniag Tradition, 
the cultural ancestor of modern Alutiiqs.
    Based on their provenience and condition, the human remains from 
the Rolling Bay, the Sitkalidak, and Saltery Cove sites are all 
determined to be Native American, and ancestors of the citizens and 
shareholders of the Village of Old Harbor, Old Harbor Native 
Corporation, and Koniag, Inc.
    Officials of the Alaska State Office, Bureau of Land Management; 
Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository; and the University of 
Wisconsin Department of Anthropology Curation Facility 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 48

[[Page 42103]]

individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of the Alaska State 
Office, Bureau of Land Management; Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological 
Repository; and the University of Wisconsin Department of Anthropology 
Curation Facility 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 
Village of Old Harbor, Old Harbor Native Corporation, and Koniag, Inc.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Dr. 
Robert E. King, Alaska State NAGPRA Coordinator, Bureau of Land 
Management, 222 W. 7th Ave., Box 13, Anchorage, AK 99513-7599, 
telephone (907) 271-5510, before September 21, 2009. Repatriation of 
the human remains to the Village of Old Harbor, Old Harbor Native 
Corporation, or Koniag, Inc. may proceed after that date if no 
additional claimants come forward.
    The Alaska State Office, Bureau of Land Management is responsible 
for notifying the Village of Old Harbor, the Old Harbor Native 
Corporation, and Koniag, Inc. that this notice has been published.

    Dated: August 7, 2009.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E9-19977 Filed 8-19-09; 8:45 am]
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