[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 112 (Friday, June 11, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33327-33328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14040]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: New York University College of 
Dentistry, New York, NY

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 and 
control of the New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY. 
The human remains were removed from the Allred Bluff and Salts Bluff 
Rockshelters, Benton 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 the New York 
University College of Dentistry professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma and Osage Nation, 
Oklahoma.
    In 1923, human remains representing a minimum of two individuals 
were removed from the Allred Bluff Rockshelter, Benton County, AR, by 
M.R. Harrington. The remains were discovered during an expedition 
sponsored by the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. The 
remains were catalogued into the collections of the Museum of the 
American Indian in 1923. In 1956, the Museum of the American Indian 
transferred the remains to Dr. Theodore Kazamiroff, New York University 
College of Dentistry. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1922, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed from the Salts Bluff Rockshelter Shelter 1, Benton County, 
AR, by M.R. Harrington. The remains were discovered during an 
expedition sponsored by the Museum of the American Indian, Heye 
Foundation. The remains were catalogued into the collections of the 
Museum of the American Indian in 1922. In 1956, the Museum of the 
American Indian transferred the remains to Dr. Theodore Kazamiroff, New 
York University College of Dentistry. No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Harrington identified all of the archeological material associated 
with the human remains at both rockshelters as part of the Bluff 
Dweller culture. The ``Bluff Dweller'' material dates to the Late 
Archaic and Early Woodland periods. The distinction between these two 
time periods is not well-defined. Both components are part of the James 
River complex, which lasted from approximately 2000 B.C. to A.D. 100. 
The James River complex was spread throughout the Ozarks, a broad 
geographic area that includes several subtraditions, although no 
subtradition has yet been defined for the region that includes the 
rockshelters. The shelters in the region were likely used by small 
groups of people from multiple adjacent, culturally discrete regions 
for specific subsistence or other resource procurement activities. The 
morphology of the remains is consistent with an individual of Native 
American ancestry.
    At the time of European contact, the areas of the Allred Bluff 
Rockshelter and Salts Bluff Rockshelter were inhabited by the Osage 
people. Osage tradition identifies the area of Benton County as part of 
the ancestral territory of the Osage. The Osage ceded their land in 
Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma between 1808 and 1825. For a while, 
they retained hunting rights in the region and their use of the Ozarks 
is documented in early 19th century records. The Osage were ultimately 
relocated to Oklahoma, where their reservation was established in 1872.
    Officials of the New York University College of Dentistry have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains 
described above represent the physical remains of three individuals of 
Native American ancestry. Officials of the New York University College 
of Dentistry also have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), 
a relationship of shared group identity cannot reasonably be traced 
between the Native American human remains and any present-day Indian 
tribe.
    The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review 
Committee (Review Committee) is responsible for recommending specific 
actions for disposition of culturally unidentifiable human remains. In 
July

[[Page 33328]]

2009, the New York University College of Dentistry requested that the 
Review Committee recommend disposition of the culturally unidentifiable 
human remains of three individuals to the Osage Nation, Oklahoma. The 
Review Committee considered the proposal at its October 30-31, 2009, 
meeting and recommended disposition of the human remains to the Osage 
Nation, Oklahoma.
    A March 4, 2010, letter from the Designated Federal Official, 
writing on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior, transmitted the 
authorization for the College to effect disposition of the physical 
remains to the Osage Nation, Oklahoma, contingent on the publication of 
a Notice of Inventory Completion in the Federal Register. This notice 
fulfills that requirement.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Dr. 
Louis Terracio, New York University College of Dentistry, 345 East 24th 
St., New York, NY 10010, telephone (212) 998-9917, before July 12, 
2010. Disposition of the human remains to the Osage Nation, Oklahoma, 
may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The New York University College of Dentistry is responsible for 
notifying the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma and Osage Nation, Oklahoma, that 
this notice has been published.

    Dated: May 27, 2010
David Tarler,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2010-14040 Filed 6-10-10; 8:45 am]
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