[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 36 (Friday, February 24, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11605-11606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-03624]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-22603; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: State Historical 
Society of North Dakota, Bismarck, ND

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The State Historical Society of North Dakota, in consultation 
with the appropriate Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, 
has determined that the cultural item listed in this notice meets the 
definition of an unassociated funerary object. Lineal descendants or 
representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not 
identified in this notice that wish to claim these cultural items 
should submit a written request to the State Historical Society of 
North Dakota. If no additional claimants come forward, transfer of 
control of the cultural items 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 
claim these cultural items should submit a written request with 
information in support of the claim to the State Historical Society of 
North Dakota at the address in this notice by March 27, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Wendi Field Murray, State Historical Society of North 
Dakota, 612 East Boulevard Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58505, telephone (701) 
328-3506, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 
U.S.C. 3005, of the intent to repatriate a cultural item under the 
control of the State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck, ND, 
that meets the definition of an unassociated funerary object under 25 
U.S.C. 3001.
    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 cultural items. The National

[[Page 11606]]

Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

History and Description of the Cultural Item(s)

    Sometime between 1850 and 1931, one cultural item was removed from 
a gravesite in Lincoln County, GA. Dr. James Grassick, a University of 
North Dakota physician, collected a stone pipe fragment from a ``grave 
in Lincoln, Georgia'' (according to records). Dr. Grassick donated more 
than 400 Native American items to the State Historical Society on 
October 26, 1931, from various states, including Georgia. The one 
unassociated funerary object is a pipe bowl fragment made of steatite. 
The pipe is likely of the handle or elbow type. Records do not provide 
any additional information regarding the object's archeological context 
or provenance.
    In consultation with Native American tribes, State Historical 
Society officials determined that the museum records actually refer to 
Lincoln County, GA, which is located on the state's eastern border. The 
pipe bowl was recovered from what were the traditional lands of the 
Cherokee Nation, The Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and United Keetoowah Band 
of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma. The determination of cultural 
affiliation of the unassociated funerary object is based on 
geographical, archeological, anthropological, and historical evidence, 
as well as other expert opinions. The unassociated funerary object is 
consistent with cultural items typically found in the burial contexts 
among these three groups. Lincoln County, GA, falls within Creek and 
Cherokee aboriginal lands ceded in the Treaty of Augusta (1773). 
Archeological evidence indicates the presence of stone pipes in burials 
at Middle Mississippi site (Dallas phase), believed to be ancestral to 
contemporary Creek and Cherokee tribes. They are also found 
archeologically, associated with adult burials among the Creek and 
Cherokee. The manufacture of steatite was also known among the 
Cherokee, and is a practice that continues to the present day. The 
extant evidence narrows the possibilities for cultural affiliation to 
modern-day Creek and Cherokee groups, but the lack of information 
regarding the object's date or provenience does not allow for a more 
specific determination. The Cherokee Nation, The Muscogee (Creek) 
Nation, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma have 
filed a joint claim for the object.

Determinations Made by the State Historical Society of North Dakota

    Officials of the State Historical Society of North Dakota have 
determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the 1 cultural item 
described above 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 and are believed, by a preponderance of the 
evidence, to have been removed from a specific burial site of a Native 
American individual.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the 
unassociated funerary objects and the Cherokee Nation, The Muscogee 
(Creek) Nation, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in 
Oklahoma.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim 
these cultural items should submit a written request with information 
in support of the claim to Wendi Field Murray, State Historical Society 
of North Dakota, 612 East Boulevard Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58505, 
telephone (701) 328-3506, [email protected] by March 27, 2017. After that 
date, if no additional claimants have come forward, transfer of control 
of the unassociated funerary object to the Cherokee Nation, The 
Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians 
in Oklahoma may proceed.
    The State Historical Society of North Dakota is responsible for 
notifying the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, Alabama-
Coushatta Tribe of Texas (previously listed as the Alabama-Coushatta 
Tribes of Texas), Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, Cherokee Nation, 
Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Eastern 
Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, Kialegee 
Tribal Town, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, Mississippi Band of Choctaw 
Indians, Poarch Band of Creeks (previously listed as the Poarch Band of 
Creek Indians of Alabama), Seminole Tribe of Florida (previously listed 
as the Seminole Tribe of Florida (Dania, Big Cypress, Brighton, 
Hollywood & Tampa Reservations)), Shawnee Tribe, The Chickasaw Nation, 
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation, The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, 
Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians 
in Oklahoma that this notice has been published.

    Dated: December 19, 2016.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2017-03624 Filed 2-23-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P