[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 159 (Friday, August 16, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50097-50098]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19990]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-13490; [PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Coolidge, 
AZ

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument has completed an inventory of human 
remains and associated funerary objects, 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 associated funerary objects 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 and associated funerary objects should submit a written request 
to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. If no additional requestors 
come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects 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 and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument at the 
address in this notice by September 16, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Karl Cordova, Superintendent, Casa Grande Ruins National 
Monument, 1100 W Ruins Drive, Coolidge, AZ 85128, telephone (520) 723-
3172, 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 and 
associated funerary objects under the control of the U.S. Department of 
the Interior, National Park Service, Casa Grande Ruins National 
Monument, Coolidge, AZ. The human remains and associated funerary 
objects were removed from Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Pinal 
County, AZ.
    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 
Superintendent, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Casa Grande 
Ruins National Monument professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Ak Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak 
Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; Gila River Indian Community of the 
Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt 
River Pima-Maricopa

[[Page 50098]]

Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham 
Nation of Arizona; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico 
(hereafter referred to as ``The Tribes'').

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1930, human remains representing, at minimum, 16 individuals 
were removed from Compound F in Pinal County, AZ. The Compound F site 
lies within the boundaries of Casa Grande Ruins National Monument and 
was excavated by the Van Bergen Expedition from the Los Angeles County 
Museum of Natural History (LACMNH). The excavation was sponsored by 
Charles Van Bergen and supervised by Arthur Woodward and Irwin Hayden. 
In 1968, the Compound F collection was loaned to the Arizona State 
Museum (ASM) and in 1983, the human remains were analyzed by the Human 
Remains Laboratory of ASM. The collection was returned to LACMNH in 
1993. In 2011, the majority of the Compound F collection, including 
objects not subject to NAGPRA, was transferred to the National Park 
Service's Western Archeological and Conservation Center in Tucson, AZ. 
At the request of The Tribes, the human remains and associated funerary 
objects remained at LACMNH. No known individuals were identified. The 
39 associated funerary objects are 25 sherds, 3 ceramic vessels, 6 
faunal bone fragments, 1 bag of faunal bone fragments, 1 piece of 
turquoise, 1 pestle, 1 bag of charcoal, and 1 unworked cone shell 
fragment.
    In the early 1930s, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from an unspecified site within the boundaries 
of Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Pinal County, AZ. In 1934, 
the remains and associated funerary object were donated to the Phoebe 
A. Hearst Museum, where they are currently housed, by LACMNH through 
Arthur Woodward. No known individuals were identified. The one 
associated funerary object is a Casa Grande Red-on-buff ceramic 
funerary urn.
    Several excavations sponsored by LACMNH and supervised by Arthur 
Woodward occurred within the boundaries of Casa Grande Ruins National 
Monument in the early 1930s, including the Compound F site and an 
unnamed site in the southeast corner of the monument. Based on the 
totality of information, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument has 
determined that the remains originated from one of these two sites.
    Both the Compound F site and the unnamed site in the southeast 
corner of the monument have been determined to be Hohokam Classic 
Period (A.D.1150-1450) sites. Evidence demonstrating historical and 
cultural ties between the people of prehistoric Hohokam Classic Period 
sites and the modern Four Southern Tribes still living in the region 
(Ak Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, 
Arizona; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian 
Reservation, Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the 
Salt River Reservation, Arizona; and Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona) 
include linguistic continuity, oral tradition, settlement patterns, 
burial practices (cremation burials), historical records, and 
similarities in material culture (red-on-buff ceramics). Evidence 
demonstrating historical and cultural ties between the inhabitants of 
the prehistoric Hohokam Classic Period sites within Casa Grande Ruins 
National Monument and the contemporary peoples of the Hopi Tribe of 
Arizona and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico include 
geography, oral history, and archeological evidence.

Determinations Made by Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

    Officials of Casa Grande Ruins National Monument have determined 
that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of 17 individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 40 objects described 
in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed with or near 
individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of the 
death rite or ceremony.
     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 associated funerary objects and The Tribes.

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 and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to Karl Cordova, Superintendent, Casa Grande 
Ruins National Monument, 1100 W Ruins Drive, Coolidge, AZ 85128, 
telephone (520) 723-3172, email [email protected], by September 16, 
2013. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects to The Tribes may proceed.
    Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is responsible for notifying 
The Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: July 10, 2013.
David Tarler,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2013-19990 Filed 8-15-13; 8:45 am]
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