[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23574-23576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09890]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-18035;PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: State Historical Society of Iowa, 
Iowa City, IA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The State Historical Society of Iowa has completed an 
inventory of human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian 
tribes, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation 
between the human remains and present-day Indian tribes. 
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 the State 
Historical Society of Iowa. If no additional requestors come forward, 
transfer of control of the

[[Page 23575]]

human remains to the Indian tribes 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 should submit a written 
request with information in support of the request to the State 
Historical Society of Iowa at the address in this notice by May 28, 
2015.

ADDRESSES: Jerome Thompson or NAGPRA Coordinator, State Historical 
Society of Iowa, 600 East Locust, Des Moines, IA 50319, telephone (515) 
281-4221, 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 the State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. The 
human remains were removed from unknown locations.
    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. 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 State 
Historical Society of Iowa professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck 
Indian Reservation, Montana; Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne 
River Reservation, South Dakota; Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of the Crow 
Creek Reservation, South Dakota; Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South 
Dakota; Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation, South 
Dakota; Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; Oglala 
Sioux Tribe (previously listed as the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine 
Ridge Reservation, South Dakota); Prairie Island Indian Community in 
the State of Minnesota; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian 
Reservation, South Dakota; Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraska; Shakopee 
Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota; Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of 
the Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota; Spirit Lake Tribe, North 
Dakota; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota; Upper Sioux 
Community, Minnesota; and the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.

History and Description of the Remains

    At an unknown date before 1901, human remains representing, at 
minimum, one individual were removed from an unknown location. The 
human remains consist of a scalp lock found in the collection of the 
State Historical Society of Iowa in 1988. Catalog #2274 is attributed 
to William McMillan and the record indicates the human remains possibly 
came from Wounded Knee, SD. The McMillan collection of firearms, Native 
American objects, and other objects was loaned to the State Historical 
Society of Iowa in 1901 and purchased in 1902. There is no additional 
information available on the human remains. No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown date before 1905, human remains representing, at 
minimum, one individual were removed from an unknown location. The 
human remains consist of a scalp lock with a short thin braid on a 
leather patch or tanned skin patch found in the collection of the State 
Historical Society of Iowa in 1988. Catalog #2456 is attributed to 
Wallace R. Lesser who was an Indian Agent to the Sac and Fox in Iowa 
from 1890-1894 and also served in the Dakota Territories. The Lesser 
collection of Native American objects (mostly Sac and Meskwaki) was 
purchased by the State Historical Society of Iowa before 1905. A report 
on the collections in 1905 describes the Lesser collection as ``69 
pieces of bead work by the Musqaukie Indians of the Tama reservation.'' 
There is no additional information available on the human remains. No 
known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    At an unknown date before 1937, human remains representing, at 
minimum, one individual were removed from an unknown location. The 
human remains consist of a scalp lock with one black braid and an 
animal fur streamer attached to a leather cylinder found in the 
collection of the State Historical Society of Iowa in 1988. Catalog 
#243 does not match any collection record, but does appear on a 1937 
inventory of objects displayed in a room of the state museum. There is 
no additional information available on the human remains. No known 
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from an unknown location. The human remains 
consist of one scalp lock of long brownish braids sewn on a leather 
patch with painted dots on the braids and each braid decorated with 
quilled ornaments and one scalp lock of seven hair strands with quilled 
keepers linked together on leather throngs. No catalog numbers are 
available and both scalp locks were found in the collection of the 
State Historical Society of Iowa in 1988. There is no additional 
information available on the human remains. No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Archival records of the State Historical Society of Iowa describe 
the donation of scalps in 1920 by Mrs. S. D. Ryan. The scalps were 
acquired by Mrs. Ryan's father, Colonel David S. Wilson, of the 6th 
Iowa Cavalry, at the battle of Whitestone Hill, Dakota Territory, in 
September 1863. According to records, the scalps were taken from the 
possession of a captured Dakota woman. It is likely these scalps are 
those listed above as the two unnumbered scalp locks and catalog #243.

Determinations Made by the State Historical Society of Iowa

    Officials of the State Historical Society of Iowa have determined 
that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice are Native American based on catalog records and 
collection practices of the State Historical Society of Iowa.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of five individual of 
Native American ancestry.
     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 any present-day Indian tribe.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(2)(ii) and the Iowa NAGPRA 
Process, transfer of control of the human remains will occur according 
to Iowa law (Code of Iowa 263B.8).
    The Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa 
administers the provisions in the Code of Iowa that provide for any 
human remains over 150 years old to be reburied in a state cemetery. 
The Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, and the 
State Historical Society of Iowa have under their control the human 
remains of five Native American individuals whose cultural affiliation 
is unknown. These human remains are considered ``culturally 
unidentifiable'' under NAGPRA, 43 CFR 10.10 (g). In 2004, the Iowa 
Office of the State Archaeologist started to develop a process, in 
consultation with tribes with a historic interest in Iowa, for the 
disposition of

[[Page 23576]]

culturally unidentifiable human remains. The Native American Graves 
Protection and Repatriation Review Committee (Review Committee) is 
responsible for recommending specific actions for disposition of 
culturally unidentifiable human remains.
    In October 2004, the Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist, 
University of Iowa, the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the 
Office of the State Archaeologist Indian Advisory Council (a group 
composed of representatives of Native American tribes in and from Iowa) 
hosted a tribal conference where 21 federally-recognized tribes and 1 
non-federally recognized tribe were invited to develop the process for 
disposition of culturally unidentifiable human remains and associated 
funerary objects in possession of the Office of the State 
Archaeologist, University of Iowa, and the State Historical Society of 
Iowa, in accordance with Iowa law (Code of Iowa 263B.8). Final drafting 
of the process was conducted through on-going tribal consultation 
involving phone calls, mail, and email.
    On May 30-31, 2006, the process developed through consultation was 
considered by the Review Committee. A June 14, 2006, letter on behalf 
of the Review Committee from the Designated Federal Officer 
provisionally authorized the Iowa Office of State Archaeologist to 
proceed with the development of the process for disposition. In 2007, 
the Iowa Office of State Archaeologist and the tribes completed the 
NAGPRA process document. A March 25, 2008, letter from the Assistant 
Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, as the designee for the 
Secretary of the Interior, transmitted the authorization for the 
transfer of control according to provisions of the Code of Iowa 263B.8 
and the NAGPRA process document, subject to publication of a Notice of 
Inventory Completion in the Federal Register. This notice fulfills that 
requirement.

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 should submit a written request with information 
in support of the request to Jerome Thompson or NAGPRA Coordinator, 
State Historical Society of Iowa, 600 East Locust, Des Moines, IA 
50319, telephone (515) 281-4221, email [email protected], by May 
28, 2015. After that date, if no additional requestors have come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains will occur according 
to Iowa law (Code of Iowa 263B.8).
    The State Historical Society of Iowa is responsible for notifying 
the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, 
Montana; Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, 
South Dakota; Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of the Crow Creek Reservation, 
South Dakota; Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; Lower Brule 
Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation, South Dakota; Lower Sioux 
Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; Oglala Sioux Tribe 
(previously listed as the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge 
Reservation, South Dakota); Prairie Island Indian Community in the 
State of Minnesota; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian 
Reservation, South Dakota; Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraska; Shakopee 
Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota; Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of 
the Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota; Spirit Lake Tribe, North 
Dakota; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota; Upper Sioux 
Community, Minnesota; and the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota that 
this notice has been published.

    Dated: April 2, 2015.
Mariah Soriano,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2015-09890 Filed 4-27-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-50-P