[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 181 (Monday, September 19, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58033-58034]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-23978]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[2253-665]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington 
State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum (Burke 
Museum), 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 Burke 
Museum. 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 Burke 
Museum at the address below by October 19, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Peter Lape, Burke Museum, University of Washington, Box 
353010, Seattle, WA 98195-3010, telephone (206) 685-3849.

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 Burke Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. 
The human remains were removed from the Congdon site (45-KL-41), in 
Klickitat County, WA.
    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.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the Burke

[[Page 58034]]

Museum professional staff in consultation with representatives of the 
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Washington; 
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Oregon; 
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon; 
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Washington; and the 
Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho (hereinafter ``The Tribes''). The Burke Museum 
also consulted with the Wanapum Band, a non-Federally recognized Indian 
group (hereinafter ``The Indian Group'').

History and Description of the Remains

    Between 1955 and 1957, human remains were removed from the Congdon 
site, in Klickitat County, WA, by a University of Washington field 
party led by Mr. Robert B. Butler. The human remains were transferred 
to the Burke Museum and formally accessioned in 1966 (Burke 
Accn. 1966-100). In 1974, the Burke Museum legally transferred 
portions of the human remains to Central Washington University. In 
2007, a Notice of Inventory Completion (NIC) describing 91 individuals 
and 1,049 associated funerary objects removed from the Congdon site was 
published in the Federal Register [72 FR 29177-29178, May 24, 2007]. 
The Burke Museum and Central Washington University have jointly 
repatriated all human remains and funerary objects from the Congdon 
site described in the NIC.
    In September 2010, human remains representing at least two 
individuals were returned to the Burke Museum from the Washington State 
Physical Anthropologist. These human remains had been turned over to 
the New York State Police by a private citizen who stated they were 
among the possessions of her deceased husband. She believed they had 
been removed from a warehouse in south Seattle sometime before 2000. 
The human remains have been determined to be from the Congdon site. The 
remains of one individual were directly labeled with a Condgon site 
number and the second individual was determined to be from the Congdon 
site due to the color and appearance of the remains. The return of 
these remains increases the original minimum number of individuals from 
the site by two individuals. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Published ethnographic documentation indicates that the Congdon 
site is in the aboriginal territory of the Western Columbia River 
Sahaptins, Wasco, Wishram, Yakima, Walla Walla, Umatilla, Tenino, and 
Skin (Daugherty 1973, Hale 1841, Hunn and French 1998, Stern 1998, 
French and French 1998, Mooney 1896, Murdock 1938, Ray 1936 and 1974, 
Spier 1936), whose descendents are represented today by the 
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Washington; 
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Oregon; and the 
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. 
Furthermore, information provided during consultation indicates that 
the aboriginal ancestors occupying this area were highly mobile, and 
traveled widely across the landscape for gathering resources as well as 
trade. Descendents of these Plateau communities are now widely 
dispersed and enrolled in all of the above mentioned Tribal 
communities, as well as the Confederated Tribes of the Colville 
Reservation, Washington; Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho, and the Wanapum Band, 
a non-Federally recognized Indian group.

Determinations Made by the Burke Museum

    Officials of the Burke Museum have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals 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 remains, The Tribes, and The Indian Group.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any Indian Tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Peter Lape, 
Burke Museum, University of Washington, Box 35101, Seattle, WA 98195, 
telephone (206) 685-3849, before October 19, 2011. Repatriation of the 
human remains to The Tribes and The (joined) Indian Group may proceed 
after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The Burke Museum is responsible for notifying The Tribes and The 
Indian Group that this notice has been published.

    Dated: September 14, 2011.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2011-23978 Filed 9-16-11; 8:45 am]
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