[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23581-23582]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09865]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-18043; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington 
State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University 
of Washington (Burke Museum), has completed an inventory of human 
remains and associated funerary object, in consultation with the 
appropriate Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has 
determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and associated funerary object and any present-day Indian 
tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. 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 object should submit a written request to the Burke 
Museum. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control 
of the human remains and associated funerary object to the Indian 
tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may 
proceed.

DATES: 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 
object should submit a written request with information in support of 
the request to the Burke Museum at the address in this notice by May 
28, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Peter Lape, Burke Museum, University of Washington, Box 
353010, Seattle, WA 98195, telephone (206) 685-3849, 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 object under the control of the Burke Museum, 
Seattle, WA. The human remains and associated funerary object were 
removed from Douglas 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) and 
43 CFR 10.11(d). 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 and associated funerary 
objects. 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 Burke 
Museum professional staff in consultation with representatives of the 
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated 
Tribes of the Colville Reservation, and the Wanapum Band of Priest 
Rapids, a non-federally recognized Indian group.

History and Description of the Remains

    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were believed to have been removed from Douglas County, WA. 
In 1995, the human remains were found in the collection with little or 
no provenience information. A search of accession records and archival 
documents produced no matches to known human remains collected from 
Douglas County. These human remains are fragmentary and heavily 
weathered; they may have been collected from the surface. Douglas 
County has many sites along the Columbia River in which human remains 
have been found eroding out from sites. No known individuals were 
identified. The one associated funerary object is a deer bone.

Determinations Made by the Burke Museum

    Officials of the Burke Museum have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice are Native American based on osteological evidence and 
museum collecting and accessioning history.
     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(3)(A), the one object described 
in this notice is 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), a relationship of shared 
group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the Native American 
human remains and associated funerary object and any present-day Indian 
tribe.
     According to final judgments of the Indian Claims 
Commission, the land from which the Native American human remains and 
associated funerary object were removed is the aboriginal land of the 
Sanpoil-Nespelem and Okanogan who are represented by the Confederated 
Tribes of the Colville Reservation, and by the Yakama who are 
represented by the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation.
     Treaties, Acts of Congress, and Executive Orders, indicate 
that the land from which the Native American human remains and 
associated funerary object were removed is the aboriginal land of the 
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and the Confederated 
Tribes of the Colville Reservation.
     Other authoritative governmental sources indicate that the 
land from which the Native American human remains and associated 
funerary object were removed is the aboriginal land of the Confederated 
Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the 
Colville Reservation, and the Wanapum Band, a non-federally recognized 
Indian group.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the 
human remains and associated funerary object may be to the Confederated 
Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the 
Colville Reservation, and the Wanapum Band, a non-federally recognized 
Indian group (if joined to one or more of the tribes).

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    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 object should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to Peter 
Lape, Burke Museum, University of Washington, Box 353010, Seattle, WA 
98195, telephone (206)

[[Page 23582]]

685-3849 x2, email [email protected], by May 28, 2015. After that date, if 
no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains and associated funerary object to the Confederated Tribes 
and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville 
Reservation, and the Wanapum Band, a non-federally recognized Indian 
group (if joined to one or more of the tribes) may proceed.
    The Burke Museum is responsible for notifying the Confederated 
Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the 
Colville Reservation, and the Wanapum Band, a non-federally recognized 
Indian group, that this notice has been published.

    Dated: April 2, 2015.
Mariah Soriano,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2015-09865 Filed 4-27-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-50-P