[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 159 (Friday, August 16, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50092-50093]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-20044]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-13620; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: 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, in 
consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations, has determined that the cultural items listed in this 
notice meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects. Lineal 
descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim these 
cultural items should submit a written request to the Washington State 
Parks and Recreation Commission. If no additional claimants come 
forward, transfer of control of the cultural items 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 
claim these cultural items should submit a written request with 
information in support of the claim to the Washington State Parks and 
Recreation Commission at the address in this notice by September 16, 
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. 3005, of the intent to repatriate cultural items under the 
control of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, 
Olympia, WA that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects 
under 25 U.S.C. 3001.
    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 cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

History and Description of the Cultural Items

    Between 1950 and 1953, 29 cultural items were removed from the site 
45-SP-5 in Spokane County, WA, by Louis R. Caywood with the National 
Park Service and under a contract with the Washington State Parks and 
Recreation Commission. At the time of removal, the Washington State 
Parks and Recreation Commission signed a Memorandum of Agreement 
releasing custody and control over all excavated material from the site 
to the Eastern Washington State Historical Society (EWSHS), now known 
as the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture. In 1989, the EWSHS de-
accessioned the objects, and transferred them to the Washington State 
Parks and Recreation Commission. The funerary objects listed in this 
notice were identified in 2005, and were transferred to the Washington 
State Parks and Recreation Commission headquarters in Olympia, WA. The 
29 unassociated funerary objects are 7 pieces of stone and shell; 20 
whole and fragmented perforated faunal teeth; 1 perforated seed; and 1 
ornamental rifle side plate.
    Between 1962 and 1963, nine cultural items were removed from site 
45-SP-5 in Spokane County, WA, by John D. Combes with Washington State 
University (WSU) and under a contract with the Washington State Parks 
and Recreation Commission. These objects originate from two identified 
burials and were excavated at the same time as the corresponding human 
remains, although the human remains are not present in the collection. 
At the time of removal, the Washington State Parks and Recreation 
Commission released custody and control over all excavated material to 
WSU. It is not known when the Washington State Parks and Recreation 
Commission took custody of the unassociated funerary objects from this 
site. The funerary objects listed in this notice were identified in 
2006, and were transferred to the Washington State Parks and Recreation 
Commission headquarters in Olympia, WA. The 9 unassociated funerary 
objects are 1 hammerstone; 2 modified shells; 2 stone tools; 2 stone 
flakes; and 2 shell fragments.
    The site is a burial ground that dates from before 1812 to 
approximately 1885. Based on the material recovered from a small 
percentage of the overall number of burials, it would appear the 
burials are associated with the ``immediate pre-contact, fur trade, or 
post-fur trade periods'' (Luttrell, 2011). These dates are supported by 
first-person accounts of the types and styles of burials during and 
following the fur trade era (Cox, 1957; Luttrell, 2011; Williams, 
1922). All 38 unassociated funerary objects came from the burial ground 
at site 45-SP-5 and specifically from graves of people who were of 
Native American ancestry.
    The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission staff has 
determined there is a relationship of shared group identity between the 
unassociated funerary objects and the modern day tribes of the Coeur 
d'Alene Tribe (previously listed as the Coeur d'Alene Tribe of the 
Coeur d'Alene Reservation, Idaho); Kalispel Indian Community of the 
Kalispel Reservation; and the Spokane Tribe of the Spokane Reservation. 
This determination is based on ethnographic evidence that the Upper and 
Middle Spokane people predominantly resided in the area and utilized 
the resources of this site in the pre- and post-contact period. 
Connections between the three groups included intermarriage between the 
Spokane and Kalispel people and the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene people as 
well as shared linguistic heritage, overlapping trade networks, battle 
alliances, shared resource protection, cooperative hunting parties, and 
shared burial practices (especially between the Spokane and Kalispel 
peoples) (Fahey, 1986; Luttrell, 2011; Ruby and Brown, 1970 & 1981; 
Walker, 1998).

[[Page 50093]]

Additionally, during consultation with the Spokane Tribe, 
representatives stated the site is a part of their people's traditional 
territory, and the burial ground is a sacred place of their people.

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(3)(B), the 38 unassociated 
funerary objects described above 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 and are believed, by a 
preponderance of the evidence, to have been removed from a specific 
burial site of a Native American individual.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the 
unassociated funerary objects and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe (previously 
listed as the Coeur d'Alene Tribe of the Coeur d'Alene Reservation, 
Idaho); Kalispel Indian Community of the Kalispel Reservation; and the 
Spokane Tribe of the Spokane Reservation.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim 
these cultural items should submit a written request with information 
in support of the claim to Alicia Woods, Washington State Parks and 
Recreation Commission, PO Box 42650, Olympia, WA 98504-2650, telephone 
(360) 902.0939, email [email protected], by September 16, 2013. 
After that date, if no additional claimants have come forward, transfer 
of control of the unassociated funerary objects to the Coeur d'Alene 
Tribe (previously listed as the Coeur d'Alene Tribe of the Coeur 
d'Alene Reservation, Idaho); Kalispel Indian Community of the Kalispel 
Reservation; and the Spokane Tribe of the Spokane Reservation may 
proceed.
    The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is responsible 
for notifying the Coeur d'Alene Tribe (previously listed as the Coeur 
d'Alene Tribe of the Coeur d'Alene Reservation, Idaho); Kalispel Indian 
Community of the Kalispel Reservation; and the Spokane Tribe of the 
Spokane Reservation that this notice has been published.

    Dated: July 24, 2013.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2013-20044 Filed 8-15-13; 8:45 am]
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