[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 163 (Tuesday, August 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52015-52016]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-20939]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Colorado Museum, 
Boulder, CO

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 and associated funerary 
objects in the control of the University of Colorado Museum, Boulder, 
CO. The human remains were removed from Boulder County, 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 Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects. 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 Colorado Museum professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Arapahoe Tribe of the 
Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma; 
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South 
Dakota; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Crow Tribe of Montana; Fort Sill 
Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico; Kiowa 
Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero 
Reservation, New Mexico; Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern 
Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine 
Ridge Reservation, South Dakota; Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Rosebud 
Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota; Southern Ute 
Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; Standing Rock 
Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota; Three Affiliated Tribes of the 
Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah 
& Ouray Reservation, Utah; and Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain 
Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah.
    On an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of two 
individuals were removed from Boulder County, CO, by an unknown 
individual. In the early 1990s, the University of Colorado, Boulder 
Department of Anthropology transferred them to the Museum for NAGPRA 
compliance. No known individuals were identified. The two associated 
funerary objects are fragments of historic clothing.
    The human remains are Native American based on the decision of the 
Department of Anthropology to transfer them to the museum for the 
purpose of NAGPRA compliance, the lack of biological evidence to 
support a determination the remains are not Native American, and the 
collecting history of the Department of Anthropology. The remains date 
to the post European contact period based on the associated funerary 
objects.
    Officials of the University of Colorado Museum have determined 
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described above 
represent the physical remains of two individuals of Native American 
ancestry. Officials of the University of Colorado Museum also have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the two objects 
described above are reasonably believed to have been placed with or 
near individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of 
the death rite or ceremony. Lastly, officials of the University of 
Colorado Museum 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 associated funerary 
objects 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 
October 2009, the University of Colorado Museum requested that the 
Review Committee recommend disposition of the culturally unidentifiable 
human remains and associated funerary objects to the Ute Mountain Tribe 
of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah, based on 
aboriginal land claims supported by oral tradition, as well as the 
support of the other Indian tribes consulted. The Comanche Nation, 
Oklahoma, and Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, signed the disposition 
agreement in support of the disposition to the tribe requesting 
disposition. None

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of the Indian tribes consulted objected to the determination of the 
``culturally unidentifiable'' status by the University of Colorado 
Museum and the disposition to Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain 
Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah.
    The Review Committee considered the proposal at its October 30-31, 
2009, meeting and recommended disposition of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects to the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute 
Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah. The Secretary of the 
Interior agreed with the Review Committee's recommendation. An April 
19, 2010, letter from the Designated Federal Officer, writing on behalf 
of the Secretary of the Interior, transmitted the authorization for the 
University of Colorado Museum to effect disposition of the physical 
remains of the culturally unidentifiable individuals to the Ute 
Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & 
Utah, contingent on the publication of a Notice of Inventory Completion 
in the Federal Register. This notice fulfills that requirement. In the 
same letter, the Secretary recommended the transfer of the associated 
funerary objects to the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain 
Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah, to the extent allowed by 
Federal, state, or local law.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary 
objects should contact Steve Lekson, Curator of Anthropology, 
University of Colorado Museum, in care of Jan Bernstein, NAGPRA 
Consultant, Bernstein & Associates, 1041 Lafayette St., Denver, CO 
80218, telephone (303) 894-0648, before September 23, 2010. Disposition 
of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the Ute 
Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & 
Utah, may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come 
forward.
    The University of Colorado Museum is responsible for notifying the 
Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Arapahoe Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, 
Wyoming; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma; Cheyenne River Sioux 
Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Comanche Nation, 
Oklahoma; Crow Tribe of Montana; Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; 
Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico; Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; 
Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; 
Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, 
Montana; Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation, South 
Dakota; Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud 
Reservation, South Dakota; Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern 
Ute Reservation, Colorado; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South 
Dakota; Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North 
Dakota; Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation, Utah; and 
Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New 
Mexico & Utah, that this notice has been published.

    Dated: August 18, 2010.
David Tarler,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2010-20939 Filed 8-23-10; 8:45 am]
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