[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 74 (Thursday, April 17, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21800-21801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-08814]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-15282; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Texas A&M University, College 
Station, TX

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Texas A&M University 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 Texas A&M 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 Texas A&M 
University at the address in this notice by May 19, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Suzanne L. Eckert, Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M 
University, College Station, TX 77843-4352, telephone (979) 845-5242.

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 Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. The human 
remains were removed from Cochise 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 
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 Texas A&M 
University (TAMU) professional staff in 1995, and the remains were 
determined to be ancestral to the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Fort Sill 
Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico; 
Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; Tohono 
O'odham Nation of Arizona; and the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the 
Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona. In 2010, representatives of these 
tribes were invited to consult with TAMU for the purpose of determining 
the place and manner of repatriation, but no tribal representatives 
contacted TAMU in response to this invitation.

History and Description of the Remains

    Sometime in the 1980s, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from the Whitewater Draw II site in Cochise 
County, AZ, by Dr. Michael Waters of TAMU. The human remains were 
determined to be one individual of indeterminate age and sex (TAMU

[[Page 21801]]

NAGPRA 73). No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present. The diagnostic artifacts recovered in the 
same strata and area indicate that these human remains were early 
prehistoric, possibly Paleoinidian.
    In 1985, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from the Sulphur Springs site (AZ FF:10:14) in Cochise 
County, AZ, by Dr. Michael Waters of TAMU. The human remains were 
determined to be one adult female (TAMU NAGPRA 74). No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present. The diagnostic artifacts recovered from the same site indicate 
that these remains date to the late Paleoindian or early Archaic 
period.
    Based on the geographic location of these sites, TAMU staff found 
it reasonable to trace a relationship of shared group identity between 
the human remains in this notice and the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Fort 
Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico; 
Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; Tohono 
O'odham Nation of Arizona; and the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the 
Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona.

Determinations Made by Texas A&M University

    Officials of Texas A&M University have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of two 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 Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Fort Sill 
Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico; 
Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; Tohono 
O'odham Nation of Arizona; and the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the 
Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona.

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. 
Suzanne L. Eckert, Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, 
College Station, TX 77843-4352, telephone (979) 845-5242, by May 19, 
2014. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains to the Apache Tribe of 
Oklahoma; Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Jicarilla Apache Nation, 
New Mexico; Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New 
Mexico; Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona; and the White Mountain Apache 
Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona, may proceed.
    Texas A&M University is responsible for notifying the Apache Tribe 
of Oklahoma; Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Jicarilla Apache 
Nation, New Mexico; Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero 
Reservation, New Mexico; Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona; and the 
White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona, 
that this notice has been published.

    Dated: March 13, 2014.
Melanie O'Brien,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2014-08814 Filed 4-16-14; 8:45 am]
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