[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 149 (Wednesday, August 3, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51192-51193]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18363]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary


Notice of Intent To Return Human Remains: National Museum of 
Health and Medicine, Defense Health Agency, Silver Spring, MD

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM), in 
consultation with appropriate descendant and memorial organizations, 
shall release the human remains of an unidentified child's skull, aged 
6-10 years, for burial alongside other victim remains of the 1857 
Mountain Meadows Massacre, interred by the U.S. Army in 1859. Next-of-
kin, or representatives of any organizations who believe they have a 
legitimate claim to the remains of victims of the 1857 Mountain Meadows 
Massacre, who wish to assert a legitimate claim for these remains or 
otherwise direct their disposition should submit a written request to 
the NMHM. If no additional claimants come forward, transfer of 
possession of the human remains to the aforementioned descendant and 
memorial organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES: Next-of-kin or representatives of any relevant organizations 
that wish to submit a legitimate claim for these remains or otherwise 
direct disposition should submit a written request, with information in 
support of their claim, to the NMHM at the address stated in the 
ADDRESSES section by September 2, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Brian Spatola, National Museum of Health and Medicine, 2460 
Linden Lane #2500, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Telephone: 301-319-3353; 
Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Statutory Authority for the intended actions 
include: Public Law 103-337, div. A, title X, Sec.  1067, Oct. 5, 1994, 
108 Stat. 2851, as amended by Pub. L. 105-78, title VII, Sec.  702, 
Nov. 13, 1997, 111 Stat. 1524 (reprinted in the notes to 10 U.S.C. 176) 
as statutory authority for the NMHM; and DoDD 5136.13, as the Director, 
Defense Health Agency's general authority over matters concerning the 
Museum as a component of the Defense Health Agency.
    History and Description of Human Remains: The human remains consist 
of the cranium of a child with an estimated age of 6-10 years, based on 
dental development. The cranium shows evidence of a perforating gunshot 
wound. In 1857, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 
Saints (allegedly in coordination with Native American allies) murdered 
approximately 120 members of a wagon train travelling from Arkansas to 
California in an event known historically as the Mountain Meadows 
Massacre. The victims included men, women, and children. In 1859, the 
U.S. Army travelled to Utah to investigate the incident, bury the dead, 
and return the surviving children to Arkansas. At

[[Page 51193]]

this time, U.S. Army Officers removed a child's skull from the massacre 
site. In 1864, U.S. Army Surgeon, B.A. Clements, forwarded a child's 
skull from the Mountain Meadows Massacre to the Army Medical Museum, 
now the NMHM. The specimen was forwarded in accordance with the Surgeon 
General's order for officers to ``collect and to forward . . . all 
specimens of morbid anatomy, surgical or medical which may be regarded 
as valuable . . . and other such matters as may prove of interest in 
the study of military medicine or surgery.'' Clements was stationed in 
the region where the massacre occurred during the time of the Army's 
1859 activity. It is believed the skull was passed on to him by others 
who had participated in the 1859 investigation. In 2009, the NMHM began 
receiving requests with conflicting perspectives from multiple parties 
claiming the child's skull for burial and scientific testing. The 
parties consulting with the museum include the Mountain Meadows 
Massacre Descendants (MMMD), the Mountain Meadows Monument Foundation 
(MMMF), the Mountain Meadows Association (MMA), and Ms. Catherine Baker 
of North Carolina. The NMHM engaged all prior, interested parties and 
requested all such parties enter into a joint agreement documenting 
their consensus on the disposition of the remains. The NMHM has 
received confirmation of consensus from a majority of all such parties, 
advocating for the human remains to be buried alongside other victims 
of the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre in Utah.

    Dated: July 29, 2016.
Aaron Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2016-18363 Filed 8-2-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 5001-06-P