[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 233 (Monday, December 5, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75909-75910]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-31071]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[2253-665]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, 
Bemidji, MN

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Minnesota Indian Affairs Council has completed an 
inventory of human remains in consultation with the appropriate Indian 
tribes, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation 
between the remains and any present-day Indian tribe. Representatives 
of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated 
with the human remains may contact the Minnesota Indian Affairs 
Council. Disposition of the human remains to the Indian tribes 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 should contact the 
Minnesota Indian Affairs Council at the address below by January 4, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: James L. (Jim) Jones, Cultural Resource Director, Minnesota 
Indian Affairs Council, 3801 Bemidji Avenue NW., Suite 5, Bemidji, MN 
56601, telephone (218) 755-3223.

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 Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MIAC). The human 
remains were removed from Marshall County, MN.
    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. 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 MIAC 
professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Lower 
Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; Prairie Island Indian 
Community in the State of Minnesota; Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, 
Minnesota; Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, 
South Dakota; Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota 
(hereinafter referred to as ``The Tribes'').

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1998, human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals 
were recovered from site 21-MA-70, Wright Quarry, in Marshall County 
during gravel quarrying operations by the Marshall County Highway 
Department. In 1999, the human remains were transferred to the 
Minnesota Office of the State Archaeologist. In 2002, the human remains 
were transferred to the MIAC (H375). No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Examination of the site context by professional staff of the 
Minnesota Office of the State Archaeologist suggests a pre-contact 
burial site. Additionally, a number of pre-historic sites are recorded 
in the immediate vicinity. Cranial, dental and femora morphology 
identify the human remains as American Indian. These human remains have 
no archeological classification and cannot be associated with any 
present-day Indian tribe.
    In 2009, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were unearthed from an unknown site in Warren, MN, during new home 
construction. The human remains were transferred to the Marshall County 
Sheriff's Department, to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension 
Laboratory, and then to the Human Identification Laboratory at the 
University of North Dakota for identification. The human remains were 
then transferred to the MIAC (H443). No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    The burial context and morphology of the human remains suggest 
identification as pre-contact American Indian. These human remains have 
no archeological classification and cannot be associated with any 
present-day Indian tribe.

Determinations Made by the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council

    Officials of the MIAC have determined that:
     Based on non-destructive physical analysis and catalogue 
records, the human remains are Native American.
     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 any present-day Indian tribe.
     According to final judgments of the Indian Claims 
Commission, the land from which the Native American human remains were 
removed is the aboriginal land of The Tribes.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of four individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the 
human remains is to The Tribes.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with the human remains or any other Indian tribe 
that believes it satisfies the criteria in 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1) should 
contact James L. (Jim) Jones, Cultural Resource Director, Minnesota 
Indian Affairs Council, 3801 Bemidji Avenue NW., Suite 5, Bemidji, MN 
56601, telephone (218) 755-3223, before January 4, 2012. Disposition of

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the human remains to The Tribes may proceed after that date if no 
additional requestors come forward.
    The Minnesota Indian Affairs Council is responsible for notifying 
The Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: November 29, 2011.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2011-31071 Filed 12-2-11; 8:45 am]
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