[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19631-19632]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07769]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-20583: PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Defense, Army 
Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, Omaha, NE., and State 
Archaeological Research Center, Rapid City, SD

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District (Omaha 
District), 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 the Omaha District. 
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 the Omaha District at the address in this 
notice by May 5, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Ms. Sandra Barnum, U.S. Army Engineer District, Omaha, ATTN: 
CENWO-PM-AB, 1616 Capital Avenue, Omaha, NE 68102, telephone, (402) 
995-2674, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby 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 Omaha District. 
The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from 
four sites in South Dakota--site 39CO19 in Corson County; 39CA117 
(Stranded Squirrel) in Campbell County; site 39CA208 (Helb) in Campbell 
County; and site 39CA4 (Anton Rygh) in Campbell County.
    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 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 and associated funerary 
objects was made by State Archaeological Research Center and Omaha 
District professional staff in consultation with representatives of the 
Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota.

History and Description of the Remains

    On an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from site 39CO19 in Corson County, SD. They are 
presently located at the South Dakota State Archaeological Research 
Center (SARC) and are under the control of the Omaha District. Human 
remains of five co-mingled individuals and one associated funerary 
object were located by SARC between 1987 and 1988, but it is not clear 
if the human remains were removed in that time frame or if they were 
from a previously made collection that had been sent to SARC in the 
mid-1980s. SARC transferred the human remains to the University of 
Tennessee, Knoxville, where an inventory was completed. After return to 
SARC, the human remains were reburied at site 39ST15. A portion of 
Individual 5 was among the human remains reburied, but the pelvis was 
retained at the University of Tennessee on loan until 1995, when it was 
returned to SARC.
    The current collection at SARC consists of the pelvis from 
Individual 5, a female over 45 years of age. No known individuals were 
identified. The one associated funerary object is a single fragment of 
mammal cranium, which was found stored with the human remains.
    The original co-mingling of the five incomplete individuals 
suggests a secondary burial, possibly an ossuary. Based on burial type, 
archeological context, and physical anthropological review, the 
individuals from the site are Native American. Potts Village, site 
39CO19, is an earth lodge village consisting of 35-50 house 
depressions, some of which are enclosed by a fortification ditch. Based 
on house types and artifacts, particularly the presence of LaRoche Ware 
ceramics, the village has been dated to the Extended Coalescent 
Tradition (A.D. 1500-1675). Both archeological and physical 
anthropological evidence indicates that the Extended Coalescent 
Tradition is ancestral Arikara. The Arikara are represented today by 
the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation.
    In 1979, human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals 
and 14 associated funerary objects that were removed from site 39CA117 
in Campbell County, SD. They are presently located at the SARC and are 
under the control of the Omaha District. The site was located in June 
1979, during a survey of the east shore of Lake Oahe. Robert E. 
Pepperl, University of Nebraska, Department of Anthropology, mapped and 
tested the site in July 1979. Two individuals and 14 funerary objects 
were recovered from a burial pit slumping from the cutbank onto the 
lakeshore. The human remains, originally held at the University of 
Nebraska, were transferred to SARC in 1986, and then submitted to the 
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, for inventory. These individuals 
were returned to SARC in 1987 and the majority of the human remains 
were reburied at site 39ST15.
    During a review of the collection in 2001, additional human remains 
from both individuals were found with the funerary objects at SARC. The 
human remains represent two adult males. Based on burial type and 
associated artifacts, archeological context, and original physical 
anthropological review, the individuals from the site are Native 
American. No known individuals were identified. The 14 associated 
funerary objects are 1 lot of charcoal fragments, 4 freshwater 
gastropod shells, and 9 ceramic body sherds.
    The Stranded Squirrel site, 39CA117, is a multicomponent occupation 
on the left bank of the Missouri River. The ceramic funerary objects 
associated with the burials indicate that the burials were associated 
with the later site occupation, the Extended Coalescent Variant (A.D. 
1500-1675) of the Plains Village Tradition. The geographical location, 
physical characteristics of the human remains, and ceramics materials 
support an affiliation of the Extended

[[Page 19632]]

Coalescent Variant with the Arikara. The Arikara are represented today 
by the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation.
    On September 30, 1975, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from the Helb Site, 39CA208 in Campbell County, 
SD. They are presently located at the SARC and are under the control of 
the Omaha District. The human remains were removed by archeologists 
from the Illinois State Museum, under contract with the National Park 
Service Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln (MWAC). A looter's pit 
was found in the east bank of the Missouri River, in what was 
identified as a primary interment pit containing human remains 
identified as an adult male. A nearly complete postcranial skeleton was 
recovered. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    The collections from the site were housed at MWAC until the fall of 
1995, when they were transferred to SARC. The human remains were found 
in the collections in 1996, while documenting the collection transfer.
    Based on burial type, archeological context, and physical 
anthropological review the individual from the site is Native American. 
The Helb site, 39CA208, is an earth lodge village dated to the Extended 
(A.D. 1000-1500) and possibly Terminal (A.D. 1500-1675) Middle Missouri 
Variants of the Plains Village Tradition, based on rectangular house 
structures, artifact types, and radiocarbon dating. Archeological and 
physical anthropological evidence suggests that the Extended and 
Terminal Middle Missouri Variants are ancestral to the Mandan. The 
Mandan are represented today by the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort 
Berthold Reservation.
    On unknown dates, human remains representing, at minimum, 17 
individuals were removed from site 39CA4, the Anton Rygh Site, in 
Campbell County, SD. They are presently located at the SARC and are 
under the control of the Omaha District. The collections were the 
results of two different excavations.
    The Anton Rygh site was a large fortified village on the east bank 
of the Missouri River and first reported by W.H. Over Museum in the 
1920s. Excavations at the site began in 1932, and over the course of 
the next 50 years, over 100 individuals have reportedly been removed 
from the site. The first set of human remains currently held by SARC 
were removed during the 1957 to 1959 excavations sponsored by the 
Smithsonian Institution River Basin Surveys (RBS), at which time a 
minimum of 66 individuals were collected. The RBS collections were 
housed at various locations, and in 1975, a significant portion of them 
of them were transferred to SARC.
    This first collection at SARC contains human remains of Individuals 
1 through 15 from the RBS. The human remains were identified as seven 
adults, five children, and three infants. Based on burial type, 
archeological context, site artifacts, and physical anthropological 
review, the individuals from the site are Native American. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    The second collection of human remains from 39CA4 at SARC was 
removed in October 1978 during a pre-survey reconnaissance of the east 
bank of Lake Oahe by the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, for the Omaha 
District. A burial was exposed in the bank and human bone, ceramics, 
flaking debris, and wood fragments were recovered. After documentation 
at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, the collection was transferred 
to SARC in 1985. The material was then inventoried by the University of 
Tennessee, Knoxville. The human remains were identified as an adult 
male and a child of indeterminate gender. Based on burial type, 
associated artifacts, archeological context, and physical 
anthropological review, the individuals from the site are Native 
American. No known individuals were identified. The 26 funerary objects 
include 1 primary flake, 24 ceramic body sherds stained with red ochre, 
and 1 lot of cottonwood bark fragments and cedar.
    The Anton Rygh site is a Plains Village Tradition multi-component 
earth lodge village. House structures, burials, cache pits, 
fortification features, and artifact types suggest at least two levels 
of occupation. The levels represent an extended Middle Missouri (A.D. 
1000-1500) variant while the upper levels represent Extended (A.D. 
1500-1675) and Post Contact (A.D. 1675-1780) Coalescent variants. The 
specific intrasite proveniences of each individual burial at SARC are 
not well established and the temporal differentiation of the burials is 
not apparent. Archeological, anthropological, and physical 
anthropological evidence indicate the Extended Middle Missouri are 
ancestral Mandan, and the Extended Coalescent and Post Contact 
Coalescent are ancestral Arikara. Both the Mandan and Arikara are 
represented today by the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold 
Reservation, North Dakota.

Determinations Made by the Omaha District

    Officials of the Omaha District have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of 21 individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 41 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 Three 
Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota.

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 Ms. Sandra Barnum, U.S. Army Engineer 
District, Omaha, ATTN: CENWO-PM-AB, 1616 Capital Avenue, Omaha, NE 
68102, telephone, (402) 995-2674, email [email protected], 
by May 5, 2016. After that date, if no additional requestors have come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects to the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold 
Reservation, North Dakota, may proceed.
    The Omaha District is responsible for notifying the Three 
Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota, that 
this notice has been published.

Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2016-07769 Filed 4-4-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-50-P