[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 217 (Wednesday, November 9, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78844-78845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26979]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-22297; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Gettysburg Foundation, 
Gettysburg, PA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Gettysburg Foundation has completed an inventory of human 
remains, 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 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 should submit a 
written request to the Gettysburg Foundation. If no additional 
requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains 
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 should submit a written 
request with information in support of the request to the Gettysburg 
Foundation at the address in this notice by December 9, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Daniel Bringman, Gettysburg Foundation, 1195 Baltimore Pike, 
Gettysburg, PA 17325, telephone (717) 339-2116, 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 Gettysburg Foundation, Gettysburg, PA. The human 
remains were reportedly removed by a private citizen from the Josiah 
Benner Farm, PA.
    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 the 
professional staff at the Gettysburg Foundation with representatives of 
the Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico; Kewa 
Pueblo, New Mexico (previously listed as the Pueblo of Santo Domingo); 
Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; Navajo 
Nation, Arizona, New Mexico & Utah; Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico 
(previously listed as the Pueblo of San Juan); Pueblo of Acoma, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Nambe, New Mexico; Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; Pueblo of Pojoaque, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Ildefonso, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; Southern Ute 
Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; Ute Indian 
Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation, Utah; Ute Mountain Ute Tribe 
(previously listed as the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New 
Mexico & Utah; Ysleta del Sur Pueblo (previously listed as the Ysleta 
Del Sur Pueblo of Texas); and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New 
Mexico.
    Hereafter, all tribes listed in this section are referred to as 
``The Consulted Tribes.''

History and Description of the Remains

    At an unknown date, human remains representing, a minimum, 1 
individual

[[Page 78845]]

were removed from an unknown location. In June 2014, an auction was 
posted that contained a human cranium, reportedly recovered by a 
private citizen from the Josiah Benner Farm, PA. The auction included a 
photograph, some battlefield objects, and an accompanying description 
that attributed the human remains and Civil War Era objects to the 
Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. The Josiah Benner Farm served as a field 
hospital during and immediately following the Battle of Gettysburg from 
July 1 to July 4, 1863.
    Due to the public outcry and threat of a riot, the auction was 
cancelled. The human cranium and Civil War objects were donated to the 
Gettysburg Foundation. At the request of the Gettysburg Foundation, the 
human cranium was sent to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum 
of Natural History for analysis. Forensic analysis of the cranium was 
used to determine whether the human cranium represented the remains of 
a Civil War soldier.
    Forensic analysis indicates that the human cranium likely is the 
remains of a male, aged 22 to 25 years, whose ancestry is Native 
American and most closely associated with Indian tribes of the 
southwestern United States based on craniometrics measurements.
    Stable isotope analysis and a radiocarbon sample were extracted 
from a fragmented left maxillary third molar. Stable isotope analysis 
indicates a diet largely comprised of C4 plants, likely maize, with 
moderate to low levels of meat protein. The AMS radiocarbon dating 
yielded results of 700 BP + 20 years. Calibrated date ranges are 
calculated to Cal AD 1269-1299 (94.53%) and Cal AD 1370-1379 (5.47%), 
respectively. The Civil War Era objects in the auction with the human 
cranium are not associated funerary objects.
    Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.16, the Secretary of the Interior may make a 
recommendation for a transfer of control of culturally unidentifiable 
Native American human remains. In July 2016, the Gettysburg Foundation 
requested that the Secretary, through the Native American Graves 
Protection and Repatriation Review Committee, recommend the proposed 
transfer of control of the culturally unidentifiable Native American 
human remains in this notice to the Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico. 
The Review Committee, acting pursuant to its responsibility under 25 
U.S.C. 3006(c)(5), considered the request at its September 2016 meeting 
and recommended to the Secretary that the proposed transfer of control 
proceed. An October 20, 2016 letter on behalf of the Secretary of 
Interior from the National Park Service Associate Director, Cultural 
Resources, Partnerships, and Science transmitted the Secretary's 
independent review and concurrence with the Review Committee that:
     The Gettysburg Foundation consulted with the appropriate 
Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations,
     none of The Consulted Tribes objected to the proposed 
transfer of control, and
     the Gettysburg Foundation may proceed with the agreed upon 
transfer of control of the culturally unidentifiable human remains to 
the Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico.

Transfer of control is contingent on the publication of a Notice of 
Inventory Completion in the Federal Register. This notice fulfills that 
requirement.

Determinations Made by the Gettysburg Foundation

    Officials of the Gettysburg Foundation have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice are Native American based on the forensic analysis.
     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(2), a relationship of shared 
group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the Native American 
human and any present-day Indian tribe.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.16, the disposition of the human 
remains will be to the Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico.

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 Daniel Bringman, Gettysburg Foundation, 
1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg, PA 17325, phone 717-339-2116, email 
[email protected] by December 9, 2016. After that 
date, if no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of 
control of the human remains to the Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico 
may proceed.
    The Gettysburg Foundation is responsible for notifying The 
Consulted Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: October 31, 2016.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2016-26979 Filed 11-8-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P