[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14069-14070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5866]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[2253-665]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Office of the State 
Archaeologist, Michigan Historical Center, Lansing, MI

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the State Archaeologist, Michigan Historical 
Center has completed an inventory of human remains and associated 
funerary objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, 
and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the 
remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day Indian 
Tribe. Representatives of any Indian Tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary 
objects may contact the Office of the State Archaeologist, Michigan 
Historical Center. Disposition of the human remains to the Indian Tribe 
stated below may occur if no additional requestors come forward.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian Tribe that believes it has a 
cultural affiliation with the human remains and/or associated funerary 
objects should contact the Office of the State Archaeologist, Michigan 
Historical Center at the address below by April 14, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Scott M. Grammer, Michigan State Historic Preservation 
Office, P.O. Box 30740, 702 W. Kalamazoo St., Lansing, MI 48909-8240, 
telephone (517) 373-4765.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 Office of the 
State Archaeologist, Michigan Historical Center, Lansing, MI. The human 
remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Fayette 
Historic State Park (20DE19), Delta County, MI.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3) and 
43 CFR 10.11(d). 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.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the Office 
of the State Archaeologist professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of 
Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation, Wisconsin; Bay Mills 
Indian Community, Michigan; Bois Forte Band (Nett Lake) of the 
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota; Chippewa-Cree Indians of the Rocky 
Boy's Reservation, Montana; Fond du Lac Band of the Minnesota Chippewa 
Tribe, Minnesota; Grand Portage Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, 
Minnesota; Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, 
Michigan; Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigan; Lac Courte Oreilles 
Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Lac du Flambeau 
Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau 
Reservation of Wisconsin; Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior 
Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Leech Lake Band of the Minnesota Chippewa 
Tribe, Minnesota; Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Michigan; Little 
Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan; Menominee Indian Tribe 
of Wisconsin; Mille Lacs Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, 
Minnesota; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota; Ottawa Tribe of 
Oklahoma; Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of 
Wisconsin; Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, Minnesota; St. Croix 
Chippewa Indians

[[Page 14070]]

of Wisconsin; Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan; Sault Ste. 
Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Michigan; Sokaogon Chippewa 
Community, Wisconsin; Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North 
Dakota; and White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota 
(hereinafter referred to as ``The Tribes'').
    On October 21, 2010, the Office of the State Archaeologist received 
a letter from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians requesting 
disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects from 
Fayette Historic State Park. However, the associated funerary objects 
are not part of this disposition. The Little Traverse Bay Bands of 
Odawa Indians expressed interest in the remains, but had no objections 
to the disposition to the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians 
and did not submit a request for disposition. No objections or other 
disposition requests from the Indian Tribes that have Delta County, MI, 
as their aboriginal land have been received.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1972, human remains representing a minimum of seven individuals 
were removed from Fayette State Historic Park, in Delta County, MI, by 
Dr. Marla Buckmaster, an archeologist at Northern Michigan University, 
in cooperation with State park officials. In 1993, Dr. Buckmaster 
transferred the remains and entire assemblage, except for some 
potsherds, to the Office of the State Archaeologist, which manages 
cultural resources on State-owned lands. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are being transferred.
    Prior to 1972, a cranium at the base of a cliff found by a visitor 
to the Fayette State Historic Park was sent to the University of 
Michigan; this cranium is not part of the Office of the State 
Archaeologist's collection. Later, park officials determined that human 
remains were eroding out of a small cave in the cliff, about 20 feet 
above the shoreline of Snailshell Harbor. Dr. Buckmaster found that the 
human remains were incomplete secondary burials covered with a layer of 
rocks. The mandibles were lying together in a niche at the back of the 
shallow cave. It is likely that part of the cave and some of the human 
remains were destroyed either by erosion or by quarrying that took 
place on the cliff in the 19th century. The use of caves for burial was 
a practice of Native Americans in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for 
at least 2,000 years. A Middle Woodland camp is located across the 
harbor from the burial cave at Fayette State Historic Park. The types 
of funerary objects found in the cave are consistent with the Middle 
Woodland period (circa 100 B.C. to circa 400 A.D.). In 1994, David 
Barondess, physical anthropologist at Michigan State University, 
examined the remains and found that some of the teeth were shovel-
shaped incisors.
    In 1986, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed from Fayette State Historic Park, in Delta County, MI. The 
remains were limited to a few fragments that were unearthed while 
archeologists from the Office of the State Archaeologist were looking 
for the former porch foundations on the mid-19th century Supervisor's 
House, a historic building in the park. In 2001, one additional bone 
was found while working on the foundation of House 3, another historic 
structure close to the Supervisor's House. It is uncertain if these 
remains are from the same individual, but the single additional bone 
may be associated with the 1986 fragments based on its proximity to 
them. Therefore, the park believes that the 1986 fragments and 2001 
bone belong to one individual. No known individual was identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    The earliest known Euro-American settlement in this location dates 
to the mid-19th century. The bones were included in soil that had been 
disturbed when the foundation of the Supervisor's House was built in 
the 1860s. This suggests that house construction had damaged all or 
part of an older grave. The condition of the bones suggested great age. 
A Middle Woodland camp was located on this side of the park, and Middle 
Woodland burials were found in a cave across the harbor. It seems 
likely that the human remains around the two houses date to the same 
period, and, therefore, are Native American. At the time the human 
remains were removed, the land was the property of the State of 
Michigan.

Determinations Made by the Office of the State Archaeologist

    Officials of the Office of the State Archaeologist have determined 
that:
     For the human remains removed in 1972, the burial 
practices, types of funerary objects, and the shovel-shaped incisors 
are all indicative of Native American remains. For the human remains 
removed in 1986 and 2001, based on the manner of disturbance, age of 
the remains, proximity and location, the remains are believed to 
represent one Native American individual.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), a relationship of shared 
group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the Native American 
human remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day 
Indian Tribe.
     At the time the remains were removed, the sites were on 
State-owned land within the aboriginal territory of The Tribes, as 
indicated by 19th-century treaties (see ``Present-Day Tribes Associated 
with Indian Land Cessions 1784-1894'' database on the National Park 
Service's National NAGPRA Program Web site.)
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
above represent the physical remains of a minimum of eight individuals 
of Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the 
human remains is to the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians of 
Michigan.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any Indian Tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with the human remains and/or associated funerary 
objects, or any other Indian Tribe that believes it satisfies the 
criteria in 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1) should contact the Office of the State 
Archaeologist's representative, Scott M. Grammer, Michigan State 
Historic Preservation Office, P.O. Box 30740, 702 W. Kalamazoo St., 
Lansing, MI 48909-8240, telephone (517) 373-4765, before April 14, 
2011. Disposition of the human remains to the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of 
Chippewa Indians of Michigan may proceed after that date if no 
additional requestors come forward.
    The Office of the State Archaeologist is responsible for notifying 
The Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: March 9, 2011.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2011-5866 Filed 3-14-11; 8:45 am]
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