[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 3, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20618-20619]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-08861]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-23026; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Nebraska State Historical 
Society, Lincoln, NE

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Nebraska State Historical Society (NSHS) 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 no cultural affiliation 
between the human remains and associated funerary objects 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 and associated funerary objects should submit a 
written request to the NSHS. If no additional requestors come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects to the 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 and associated funerary 
objects should submit a written request with information in support of 
the request to the NSHS at the address in this notice by June 2, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Rob Bozell, Nebraska State Historical Society, P.O. Box 
82554, Lincoln, NE 68501, telephone (402) 471-4789, 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 NSHS, Lincoln, NE. 
The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from 
Custer and Franklin Counties, NE.
    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 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 and associated funerary 
objects was made by the NSHS professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of: The Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, 
Wyoming; Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; Kiowa Indian Tribe of 
Oklahoma; Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian 
Reservation, Montana; Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; and Ponca Tribe of 
Nebraska.

History and Description of the Remains

    On an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from a ranch in rural Custer County, NE. On 
July 1, 2014, the human remains were donated to the NSHS by the private 
individual who had initially removed them. The human remains include 
the partial cranium and ten post-cranial bones of an individual of 
Native American ancestry. No known individual was identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    On October 28, 2014, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from a private yard in the City of Broken Bow 
in Custer County, NE. The human remains were given to the City of 
Broken Bow Police Department and subsequently donated to the NSHS. The 
human remains include the partial cranium of an individual of possible 
Native American ancestry. No known individual was identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    On October 1, 2014, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from an abandoned building in Custer County, 
NE. The human remains were given to the Custer County Sheriff's Office 
and subsequently donated to the NSHS. The human remains include the 
cranium of an individual of Native American ancestry and 13 post-
cranial bones. No known individual was identified. The 13 associated 
funerary objects are: One metal button, one metal ring, one metal hook 
or flint steel, one animal bone, five flint flakes, one chalky 
concretion, two glass trade beads, and one mussel shell.
    Between November 5 and 7, 2014, human remains representing, at 
minimum, one adult individual were removed from a steep slope in 
Franklin County, NE, by the NSHS. The human remains were discovered 
eroding from the slope by an archeological survey crew. The human 
remains include: Two femora (l/r), two tibiae (l/r), two fibulae (l/r), 
one pelvis (l), two humeri (l/r), one radius (l), one ulna (l), one 5th 
metacarpal (r), several fragments of vertebrae, and several fragments 
of unidentifiable long bones. The human remains were those of an 
individual of Native American ancestry. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.

Determinations Made by the Nebraska State Historical Society

    Officials of the Nebraska State Historical Society have determined 
that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice are Native American based on associated funerary objects 
and examination by a physical anthropologist of cranial, dental, and 
femoral features and measurements.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of four individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 13 objects 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), a relationship of shared 
group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the Native American 
human remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day 
Indian tribe.

[[Page 20619]]

     According to final judgments of the Indian Claims 
Commission or the Court of Federal Claims, the land from which the 
Native American human remains and associated funerary objects were 
removed is the aboriginal land of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects may be to the Pawnee 
Nation of Oklahoma.

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 and associated funerary objects should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to Rob 
Bozell, Nebraska State Historical Society, P.O. Box 82554, Lincoln, NE 
68501, (402) 471-4789, email [email protected], by June 2, 2017. 
After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects to the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma may proceed.
    The Nebraska State Historical Society is responsible for notifying 
the Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Iowa Tribe of 
Kansas and Nebraska; Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; Northern Cheyenne 
Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; Pawnee 
Nation of Oklahoma; and Ponca Tribe of Nebraska that this notice has 
been published.

    Dated: March 3, 2017.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2017-08861 Filed 5-2-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P