[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 142 (Wednesday, July 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 44594]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17713]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-13405; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Washington State Parks and 
Recreation Commission, Olympia, WA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission has 
completed an inventory of human remains, in consultation with the 
appropriate Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has 
determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and present-day Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. 
Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains should submit a 
written request to the Washington State Parks and Recreation 
Commission. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of 
control of the human remains to the lineal descendants, Indian tribes, 
or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or 
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to the 
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission at the address in this 
notice by August 23, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Alicia Woods, Washington State Parks and Recreation 
Commission, PO Box 42650, Olympia, WA 98504-2650, telephone (360) 902-
0939, email [email protected].

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 under 
the control of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, 
Olympia, WA. The human remains were removed from Birch Bay State Park, 
Whatcom 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 
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission professional staff in 
consultation with representatives of the Lummi Tribe of the Lummi 
Reservation. The following additional tribes were contacted but did not 
participate in the consultation and deferred to the Lummi Tribe of the 
Lummi Reservation: Nooksack Indian Tribe and Upper Skagit Indian Tribe.

History and Description of the Remains

    On May 13, 1999, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from a recorded site in Whatcom County, WA. 
During the monitoring of an expansion of the parking lot inside Birch 
Bay State Park boundaries, fragments of bone were inadvertently 
discovered. At the time, these fragments were believed to be faunal. 
The fragments were subsequently delivered to Washington State Parks and 
Recreation Commission headquarters and stored in collections. In 2001, 
the fragments were reviewed by an anthropologist and were determined to 
be human remains and to be consistent with an extended postmortem 
interval, but no cultural, gender, or age specific characteristics 
could be determined. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    The site is a known prehistoric archaeological site that consists 
of material from Native American permanent and seasonal villages, 
occupied predominantly by the Semiahmoo, Lummi, and Nooksack people 
until the time of European settlement in the 1870s. The age of the site 
is dated to a minimum of 2,000 years ago and numerous burials have been 
excavated from within and below a shell midden on this site. Because of 
the location from which the human remains were removed and the 
condition of the human remains, Washington State Parks and Recreation 
Commission staff has determined that the human remains are of Native 
American descent. A representative from the Lummi Tribe, in 
consultation, confirmed the Lummi people occupied and utilized the area 
of Birch Bay. Additionally, ethnographic (Jeffcot, 1945; Suttles, 1990; 
Tremaine, 1975) and archaeological evidence (Baldwin, 2008 and 2010; 
Gaston & Grabert, 1975; Grabert & Spear, 1976; Reid, 1996) supports on 
a relationship of shared group identity between the human remains and 
the Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation and the Nooksack Indian Tribe.

Determinations Made by the Washington State Parks and Recreation 
Commission

    Officials of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission 
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 Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation and 
the Nooksack Indian Tribe.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to Alicia 
Woods, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, PO Box 42650, 
Olympia, WA 98504-2650, telephone (360) 902-0939, email 
[email protected] by August 23, 2013. After that date, if no 
additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains to the Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation may proceed. 
The Nooksack Indian Tribe has deferred transfer of control to the Lummi 
Tribe of the Lummi Reservation.
    The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is responsible 
for notifying the Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation; Nooksack Indian 
Tribe; and the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: June 27, 2013.
Melanie O'Brien,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2013-17713 Filed 7-23-13; 8:45 am]
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