[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 232 (Friday, December 2, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87051-87052]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28958]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-22424; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Forest Service, Tongass National Forest, Craig Ranger District, Craig, 
AK

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (Forest 
Service) 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 Tongass 
National Forest, Craig Ranger 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 Tongass National Forest at the address in 
this notice by January 3, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Earl Stewart, Tongass National Forest Supervisor, 648 
Mission Street Federal Building, Ketchikan, AK 99901-6591, telephone 
(907) 225-3101, 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 and 
associated funerary objects under the control of the Forest Service, 
Tongass National Forest, Craig Ranger District. The human remains and 
associated funerary objects were removed from the Staney Creek area of 
Prince of Wales Island, AK.
    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 was made by the Forest 
Service professional staff using details provided from the Canadian 
Museum of History and in consultation with representatives of Craig 
Tribal Association (previously

[[Page 87052]]

listed as the Craig Community Association), Hydaburg Cooperative 
Association, Klawock Cooperative Association, and the Organized Village 
of Kasaan.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1973, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from the Staney Creek area on Prince of Wales Island, AK. 
The human remains were removed from Forest Service-managed lands by 
members of the United States Geological Survey, Department of the 
Interior. In 1974, the human remains were sent to the Canadian Museum 
of Civilization Corporation for analysis. The analysis indicated the 
human remains were from 185 to 385 years old. In September of 2014, the 
Forest Service took possession of the remains and funerary object from 
the museum and took them to the Craig Ranger District. No known 
individuals were identified. The one associated funerary object is a 
piece of wood that was found with the human remains.
    Cultural affiliation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects was based on multiple lines of evidence, including consultation 
with the Klawock Cooperative Association and a published source, Haa 
Aani, Our Land: Tlingit and Haida Land Rights and Use by Walter 
Goldschmidt and Theodore H. Haas, edited by Thomas F. Thornton, first 
issued in 1948, reprinted in 1988, by the Sealaska Heritage 
Association. The human remains were removed from an area defined in Haa 
Aani and by the tribe as culturally affiliated with the Klawock 
Cooperative Association.

Determinations Made by the Forest Service, Tongass National Forest

    Officials of the Forest Service, Tongass National Forest have 
determined that:
     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 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 object and the Klawock 
Cooperative Association.

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 Tongass National Forest Supervisor Earl 
Stewart, 648 Mission Street Federal Building, Ketchikan, AK 99901-6591, 
phone number (907) 225-3101, email [email protected], by January 3, 
2017. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects to Klawock Cooperative Association may proceed.
    The Forest Service is responsible for notifying the Craig Tribal 
Association (previously listed as the Craig Community Association), 
Klawock Cooperative Association, Hydaburg Cooperative Association, and 
the Organized Village of Kasaan that this notice has been published.

Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program
[FR Doc. 2016-28958 Filed 12-1-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P