[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 232 (Friday, December 2, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87056-87057]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28957]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-22254; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Forest Service, Bighorn National Forest, Sheridan, WY

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Bighorn 
National Forest (BHNF), Sheridan, WY has completed an inventory of 
human

[[Page 87057]]

remains and associated funerary objects, 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. 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 object should submit a 
written request to the BHNF. If no additional requestors come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary object 
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 object should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to the BHNF at the address below by January 3, 
2017.

ADDRESSES: Mr. William Bass, Forest Supervisor, Bighorn National 
Forest, 2013 Eastside Second Street, Sheridan, WY 82801, telephone 
(307) 674-2600.

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 an 
associated funerary object under the control of the Bighorn National 
Forest, Sheridan, WY. The human remains and associated funerary object 
were removed from Big Horn County, WY.
    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 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

    On Thursday, July 28, 2016, at the Bighorn National Forest 
Supervisor's Office in Sheridan, WY a detailed assessment of the human 
remains and associated funerary object was made by BHNF professional 
staff in consultation with representatives of the Arapaho Tribe of the 
Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the 
Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Chippewa Cree Indians of the 
Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana (previously listed as the Chippewa-
Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana); Northern 
Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; 
and the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North 
Dakota. The Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian 
Reservation, Montana; the Crow Tribe of Montana; and the Eastern 
Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming (previously 
listed as the Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming), 
which BHNF had invited to consult, did not participate. The above 
Indian tribes are hereinafter referred to as ``The Invited and 
Consulted Tribes.''

History and Description of the Remains

    In the 1920s, a rancher found and removed partially mummified human 
remains representing, at minimum, one individual from the Hudson Falls 
Creek area of Bighorn National Forest in Big Horn County, WY. In 1975, 
the rancher's family transferred the human remains to the University of 
Wyoming, for curation at the University of Wyoming Human Remains 
Repository (accession number HR049). In 1994, an osteologist from the 
Smithsonian Institution determined that the human remains represent a 
Native American child of indeterminate sex. No known individual was 
identified. The one associated funerary object is a brass wire shell 
earring.

Determinations Made by the Bighorn National Forest

    Officials of the BHNF have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in the notice are Native American based on archeological evidence.
     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 lands from which the Native American human remains and 
associated funerary object were removed is the aboriginal land of the 
Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Assiniboine and 
Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana; Cheyenne 
River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; the 
Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana 
(previously listed as the Chippewa-Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's 
Reservation, Montana); Crow Tribe of Montana; the Eastern Shoshone 
Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming (previously listed as the 
Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming); the Northern 
Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; 
and the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North 
Dakota (hereinafter referred to as ``The Aboriginal Land Tribes'').
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the 
human remains and associated funerary object may be to The Aboriginal 
Land 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 should contact Mr. William Bass, Forest 
Supervisor, Bighorn National Forest, 2013 Eastside Second Street, 
Sheridan, WY 82801, telephone 307-674-2600, before January 3, 2017. 
After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary object 
to The Aboriginal Land Tribes may proceed.
    The BHNF is responsible for notifying The Invited and Consulted 
Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: November 15, 2016.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2016-28957 Filed 12-1-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P