[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39906-39907]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17645]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-23716; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Arkansas State Highway and 
Transportation Department, Little Rock, AR

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department 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 the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. 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 the Arkansas 
State Highway and Transportation Department at the address in this 
notice by September 21, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Kristina Boykin, Arkansas State Highway and Transportation 
Department, P.O. Box 2261, Little Rock, AR 72203, telephone (501) 569-
2079, 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 the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation 
Department. The human remains were removed from a bluff shelter in 
Madison County, AR.
    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 the 
Department of Anthropology at the University of Arkansas professional 
staff for the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department in 
consultation with representatives of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, 
Cherokee Nation, The Osage Nation (previously listed as the Osage 
Tribe), and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1991, human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals 
were recovered from site 3MA238 in Madison County, AR, during an 
excavation of a borrow pit for White River Bridge Replacement. The 
appropriate authorities, including Dr. Jerome Rose, were notified and 
determined that the human remains were Native American. At the request 
of the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department, the human 
remains were taken to the Osteology Laboratory of the University of 
Arkansas for forensic analysis and have remained in storage at the lab 
at the University of Arkansas. Currently, the human remains are being 
stored at the Arkansas Archeological Survey's curation facility.
    The human remains were identified as two adults (30-45 years). The 
human remains consisted of one male and one female. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present. No diagnostic artifacts were found at site 3MA238 to indicate 
when these human remains were buried. The cultural and temporal 
identity of these human remains is difficult to discern and they cannot 
be clearly culturally affiliated with an Indian tribe.

Determinations Made by the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation 
Department

    Officials of the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation 
Department have determined that:

[[Page 39907]]

     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.
     According to final judgments of the Indian Claims 
Commission or the Court of Federal Claims, the land from which the 
Native American human remains were removed is the aboriginal land of 
The Osage Nation (previously listed as the Osage Tribe).
     Treaties, Acts of Congress, or Executive Orders, indicate 
that the land from which the Native American human remains were removed 
is the aboriginal land of the Cherokee Nation, The Osage Nation 
(previously listed as the Osage Tribe), and United Keetoowah Band of 
Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the 
human remains may be to the Cherokee Nation, The Osage Nation 
(previously listed as the Osage Tribe), and United Keetoowah Band of 
Cherokee Indians in 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 should submit a written request with information 
in support of the request to Kristina Boykin, Arkansas State Highway 
and Transportation Department, P.O. Box 2261, Little Rock, AR 72203, 
telephone (501) 569-2079, email [email protected], by 
September 21, 2017. After that date, if no additional requestors have 
come forward, transfer of control of the human remains to the Cherokee 
Nation, The Osage Nation (previously listed as the Osage Tribe), and 
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma may proceed.
    The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department is 
responsible for notifying the Cherokee Nation, The Osage Nation 
(previously listed as the Osage Tribe), and United Keetoowah Band of 
Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma that this notice has been published.

    Dated: July 6, 2017.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2017-17645 Filed 8-21-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P