[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 146 (Tuesday, July 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45957-45958]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18274]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-13393; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Columbia University, Department 
of Anthropology, New York, NY

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Columbia University, Department of Anthropology, 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 Columbia University. 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 Columbia 
University at the address in this notice by August 29, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Nan Rothschild, Department of Anthropology, Columbia 
University, New York, NY 10027, telephone (212) 854-4977, 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 Columbia University. The human remains were removed from 
On-A-Slant Village (site 32MO26), Morton County, ND.
    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 Columbia 
University, Department of Anthropology, professional staff in 
consultation with representatives of the Three Affiliated Tribes of 
Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1938, human remains representing, at minimum, 10 individuals 
were removed from On-A-Slant Village (site 32MO26) in Morton County, 
ND. The

[[Page 45958]]

excavation was led by William Duncan Strong and jointly sponsored by 
Columbia University and the State Historical Society of North Dakota. 
Strong brought the human remains to the American Museum of Natural 
History (AMNH), where they were placed on ``permanent loan.'' In 
January 2002, a detailed assessment of the human remains was made by 
researchers at Columbia University, and in March 2006, AMNH transferred 
the human remains to the Department of Anthropology at Columbia 
University. Seven partial or nearly intact skeletons, representing five 
adults and two children, and fragmentary remains of three other 
individuals were identified. These individual have been identified as 
Native American based on Strong's documentation and non-invasive 
assessment of cranial features. No known individuals were identified. 
No associated funerary objects are present.
    The human remains were found on the site of a contact-period Mandan 
settlement called On-A-Slant Village (site 32MO26) on the right bank of 
the Heart River near its confluence with the Missouri River. Lewis and 
Clark recorded this site in 1804, as ``the remains of a village 
formerly occupied by the Mandans,'' which local people reported as 
having been abandoned around 1780, due to smallpox and warfare with the 
Sioux. Records indicate that the descendants of this settlement 
sometimes lived with members of the Hidatsa and Arikara. Today, the 
Arikara, Hidatsa, and Mandan people are represented by the Three 
Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota.

Determinations Made by Columbia University, Department of Anthropology

    Officials of Columbia University, Department of Anthropology, have 
determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of, at minimum, 10 
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 and the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold 
Reservation, North Dakota.

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 Dr. Nan 
Rothschild, Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, 1200 
Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027, telephone (212) 854-4977, email 
[email protected], by August 29, 2013. After that date, if no 
additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains to the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold 
Reservation, North Dakota, may proceed.
    The Columbia University, Department of Anthropology, is responsible 
for notifying the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold Reservation, 
North Dakota, that this notice has been published.

    Dated: June 25, 2013.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2013-18274 Filed 7-29-13; 8:45 am]
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