[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 152 (Monday, August 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48176-48177]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19988]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[2253-665]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los 
Angeles, CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Fowler Museum at UCLA has completed an inventory of human 
remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes, and has 
determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and present-day Indian tribes. Representatives of any Indian 
tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human 
remains may contact the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Repatriation of the 
human remains to the Indian tribes stated below may occur if no 
additional claimants come forward.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes it has a 
cultural affiliation with the human remains should contact the Fowler 
Museum at UCLA at the address below by September 7, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Wendy G. Teeter, Ph.D., Curator of Archaeology, Fowler 
Museum at UCLA, Box 951549, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1549, telephone (310) 
825-1864.

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 in the 
possession of the Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA. The human 
remains were removed from Maricopa County, AZ.
    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.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the Fowler 
Museum at UCLA professional staff in consultation with representatives 
of the Ak Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian 
Reservation, Arizona; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River 
Indian Reservation, Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-
Maricopa Indian

[[Page 48177]]

Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation 
of Arizona; and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico. The 
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River 
Reservation, Arizona, has submitted a repatriation claim for the 
individual described in this notice, on behalf of itself and the Ak 
Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, 
Arizona; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian 
Reservation, Arizona; and Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona (hereinafter 
referred to as ``The Four Southern Tribes of Arizona'').

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1940, a human remain representing a minimum of one individual 
was removed from the Van Liere Ranch Site, in Maricopa County, AZ, 
during excavations by J.W. Simmons. The collection was donated to the 
Fowler Museum at UCLA by Thomas Hinton in 1956. The human remain is an 
infant's tooth that was found in the collection. No known individual 
was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    The Van Liere Ranch site was a burial ground with numerous Hohokam 
cremations and other features. This site is dated from A.D. 300-1500 
based on the cultural materials found at the site, which are identified 
by archeologists and cultural experts as consistent with Hohokam 
culture. There are burial records that describe the excavation of each 
burial and include field and artifact photos, drawings, and site maps. 
Except for this individual, the human remains were not removed from the 
ground. Based on museum documentation and information during 
consultation, it is reasonable to believe this individual is Native 
American and of Hohokam ancestry.
    The Four Southern Tribes of Arizona assert a ``close relationship 
of shared group identity that can be traced both historically and 
prehistorically between the Four Southern Tribes of Arizona and the 
people that inhabited the south central Arizona and the northern region 
of present day Mexico from time immemorial.'' Therefore, The Four 
Southern Tribes of Arizona claim cultural affiliation to this 
individual based on geographical, archeological, linguistic, oral 
tradition, and historical evidence.
    The Hopi Tribe ``claims cultural and ancestral affiliation to all 
human remains, associated and unassociated funerary objects, sacred 
objects, and objects of cultural patrimony that were collected from 
Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Basketmaker, Hisatsinom (Anasazi), Mogollon, 
Hohokam, Sinaguan, Fremont, Mimbres, and Salado, prehistoric and 
historic cultures of the Southwest.''
    Based on, ``Zuni oral teachings and tradition, ethnohistoric 
documentation, historic documentation, archaeological documentation, 
and other evidence, the Zuni Tribe claims cultural affiliation with 
prehistoric cultures of the Southwestern United States that include, 
and are known as, Paleo Indian, Archaic, Basketmaker, Puebloan, 
Freemont, Anasazi, Mogollon (including Mimbres and Jornada), Hohokam, 
Sinagua, Western Pueblo, and Salado.''
    Therefore, the oral tradition, kinship system, and archeology all 
indicate that The Four Southern Tribes of Arizona, Hopi Tribe of 
Arizona, and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico, 
identify with the archeological Hohokam tradition. Finally, multiple 
lines of evidence, including treaties, Acts of Congress, and Executive 
Orders, indicate that the land from which the Native American human 
remain was removed is the aboriginal land of The Four Southern Tribes 
of Arizona, Hopi Tribe of Arizona, and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni 
Reservation, New Mexico.

Determinations Made by the Fowler Museum at UCLA

    Officials of the Fowler Museum at UCLA have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remain described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of 
Native American ancestry.
     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 remain and The Four Southern Tribes of Arizona, Hopi 
Tribe of Arizona, and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New 
Mexico.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remain should contact Wendy G. 
Teeter, Ph.D., Curator of Archaeology, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Box 
951549, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1549, telephone (310) 825-1864, before 
September 7, 2011. Repatriation of the human remain to the Salt River 
Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona, 
on behalf of The Four Southern Tribes of Arizona, may proceed after 
that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The Fowler Museum at UCLA is responsible for notifying The Four 
Southern Tribes of Arizona, Hopi Tribe of Arizona, and the Zuni Tribe 
of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico, that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: August 2, 2011.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2011-19988 Filed 8-5-11; 8:45 am]
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