[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 19, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33153-33154]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-15107]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-23520; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: History Colorado, Formerly 
Colorado Historical Society, Denver, CO

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: History Colorado, formerly Colorado Historical Society, 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 History Colorado. If no additional requestors come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains 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 should submit a written 
request with information in support of the request to History Colorado 
at the address in this notice by August 18, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Sheila Goff, NAGPRA Liaison, History Colorado, 1200 
Broadway, Denver, CO 80203, telephone (303) 866-4531, 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 History Colorado, Denver, CO. The human remains were 
recovered from Southwest Colorado.
    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. The National Park Service 
is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by History 
Colorado professional staff in consultation with representatives of the 
Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Cheyenne and 
Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma (previously listed as the Cheyenne-Arapaho 
Tribes of Oklahoma); Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Kiowa Indian Tribe of 
Oklahoma; Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New 
Mexico; Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico & Utah; Northern Cheyenne 
Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; Ohkay 
Owingeh, New Mexico (previously listed as the Pueblo of San Juan); 
Pueblo of Acoma, 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;

[[Page 33154]]

Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern 
Ute Reservation, Colorado; and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (previously 
listed as the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, 
Colorado, New Mexico & Utah). The Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Crow Creek 
Sioux Tribe of the Crow Creek Reservation, South Dakota; Fort Sill 
Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico; Pueblo 
of Isleta, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, 
New Mexico; Ysleta del Sur Pueblo (previously listed as the Ysleta Del 
Sur Pueblo of Texas); and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New 
Mexico, were invited to consult, but did not participate. Hereafter, 
all Indian Tribes listed above are referred to as ``The Consulted and 
Invited Tribes.''

History and Description of the Remains

    At an unknown time, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from private property in Southwest Colorado. In 
February of 2017, the human remains were anonymously sent by mail to 
the Anasazi Heritage Center, Dolores, CO. The Montezuma County Coroner 
ruled out a forensic interest in the human remains and transferred them 
to the Office of the State Archaeologist (OSAC), where they are 
identified as Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP) 
Case Number 321. Osteological analysis by Dr. Dawn Mulhern of Fort 
Lewis College indicates that the human remains are likely of Native 
American ancestry. The human remains represent one individual of 
indeterminate age or sex. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    At some time in the 1890s, human remains representing, at minimum, 
one individual were removed from an unknown location in Southwest 
Colorado. In March 2017, the human remains were given to the OSAC, 
where they are identified as OAHP Case Number 322. Osteological 
description by Dr. Diane France indicates that the human remains are 
likely of Native American ancestry. The human remains represent one 
individual of indeterminate age or sex. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    History Colorado, in partnership with the Colorado Commission of 
Indian Affairs, Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute 
Reservation, Colorado, and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (previously 
listed as the Ute mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, 
Colorado, New Mexico & Utah), conducted consultations among the Indian 
Tribes with ancestral ties to the State of Colorado to develop the 
process for disposition of culturally unidentifiable Native American 
human remains and associated funerary objects originating from 
inadvertent discoveries on Colorado State and private lands. As a 
result of the consultation, a process was developed, Process for 
Consultation, Transfer, and Reburial of Culturally Unidentifiable 
Native American Human Remains and Associated Funerary Objects 
Originating From Inadvertent Discoveries on Colorado State and Private 
Lands, (2008, unpublished, on file with the Colorado Office of 
Archaeology and Historic Preservation). The Indian Tribes consulted are 
those who have expressed their wishes to be notified of discoveries in 
the Southwest Consultation Region as established by the Process, where 
these individuals originated.
    The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review 
Committee (Review Committee) is responsible for recommending specific 
actions for disposition of culturally unidentifiable human remains. On 
November 3-4, 2006, the Process was presented to the Review Committee 
for consideration. A January 8, 2007, letter on behalf of the Review 
Committee from the Designated Federal Officer transmitted the 
provisional authorization to proceed with the Process upon receipt of 
formal responses from the Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico, and the 
Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, subject to forthcoming conditions 
imposed by the Secretary of the Interior. On May 15-16, 2008, the 
responses from the Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico, and the Kiowa 
Indian Tribe of Oklahoma were submitted to the Review Committee. On 
September 23, 2008, the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and 
Parks, as the designee for the Secretary of the Interior, transmitted 
the authorization for the disposition of culturally unidentifiable 
human remains according to the Process and NAGPRA, pending publication 
of a Notice of Inventory Completion in the Federal Register. This 
notice fulfills that requirement.
    43 CFR 10.11 was promulgated on March 15, 2010, to provide a 
process for the disposition of culturally unidentifiable Native 
American human remains recovered from tribal or aboriginal lands as 
established by the final judgment of the Indian Claims Commission or 
U.S. Court of Claims, a treaty, Act of Congress, or Executive Order, or 
other authoritative governmental sources. As there is no evidence to 
suggest that the human remains reported in this notice originated from 
tribal or aboriginal lands, they are eligible for transfer of control 
under the Process.

Determinations Made by History Colorado

    Officials of History Colorado have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice are Native American based on osteological analysis.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals 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 remains and any present-day Indian Tribe.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(2)(ii) and the Process, the 
disposition of the human remains may be to the Southern Ute Indian 
Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado, and the Ute Mountain 
Ute Tribe (previously listed as the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute 
Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah).

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 Sheila Goff, NAGPRA Liaison, History 
Colorado, 1200 Broadway, Denver, CO 80203, telephone (303) 866-4531, 
email [email protected], by August 18, 2017. After that date, if 
no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute 
Reservation, Colorado, and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (previously 
listed as the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, 
Colorado, New Mexico & Utah) may proceed.
    History Colorado is responsible for notifying The Consulted and 
Invited Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: June 5, 2017.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2017-15107 Filed 7-18-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P