[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 76 (Thursday, April 19, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23507-23508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9470]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[2253-665]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Museum of Anthropology at 
Washington State University, Pullman, WA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Museum of Anthropology at Washington State University 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 Museum of 
Anthropology at Washington State University. 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 Museum 
of Anthropology at Washington State University at the address below by 
May 21, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Mary Collins, WSU Museum of Anthropology, P.O. Box 644910, 
Pullman, WA 99164, telephone (509) 334-2812.

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 and control of the Museum of Anthropology at Washington 
State University. The human remains were removed from Stevens 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 Museum of 
Anthropology at Washington State University professional staff in 
consultation with representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the 
Colville Reservation, Washington, and the Spokane Tribe of the Spokane 
Reservation, Washington.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1979, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from an unknown location in Stevens County, WA. The 
remains were included in a large collection of faunal skeletons used as 
a comparative collection assembled by former WSU Anthropology graduate 
students Kent Harkins and Christopher Brown. In 2008, the comparative 
collection was given to the WSU Conner Museum, a unit within the School 
of Biological

[[Page 23508]]

Sciences. The human remains were recognized by the Conner Museum staff 
while accessioning the faunal skeletons and were transferred to the WSU 
Museum of Anthropology so that the NAGPRA process could be completed. 
No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects 
are present.
    The human remains consist of a single cranium that has been 
described as that of an adult male Native American, determined by the 
physical character of the remains, particularly the dental remains. The 
western border of Stevens County, WA, is the eastern shore of Lake 
Roosevelt, the reservoir behind the Grand Coulee Dam. While available 
information does not confirm that the remains were removed from the 
shores of Lake Roosevelt, it is well known that thousands of burials 
have been located in the eroding lake margin sediments, and it is 
extremely likely that these remains were also found along the shores of 
Lake Roosevelt. Both the Confederated Tribes of the Colville 
Reservation, Washington, and the Spokane Tribe of the Spokane 
Reservation, Washington, have reservation lands as well as traditional 
lands along Lake Roosevelt.

Determinations Made by the Museum of Anthropology at Washington State 
University

    Officials of the Museum of Anthropology at Washington State 
University have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains 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 remains and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville 
Reservation, Washington and the Spokane Tribe of the Spokane 
Reservation, Washington.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Mary 
Collins, WSU Museum of Anthropology, P.O. Box 644910, Pullman, WA 
99164, telephone (509) 334-2812, before May 21, 2012. Repatriation of 
the human remains to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian 
Reservation, Washington, may proceed after that date if no additional 
claimants come forward.
    The Museum of Anthropology at Washington State University is 
responsible for notifying Confederated Tribes of the Colville 
Reservation, Washington, and the Spokane Tribe of the Spokane 
Reservation, Washington, that this notice has been published.

    Dated: April 12, 2012.
David Tarler,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2012-9470 Filed 4-18-12; 8:45 am]
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