[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 5, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41983-41984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18683]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-23719; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, Denver, CO

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Office of Law Enforcement (USFWS OLE), has completed an 
inventory of human remains and an associated funerary object, 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 object 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 object should submit a 
written request to the USFWS OLE. If no additional requestors come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated 
funerary object 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 object should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to the USFWS OLE at the address in this notice 
by October 5, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Steve Oberholtzer, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, Mountain-Prairie Region, 
P.O. Box 25486--DFC, Denver, CO 80225, telephone (303) 236-7893, 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 USFWS OLE. The 
human remains and associated funerary object were removed from Ontario 
County, NY.
    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 object. 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 USFWS 
OLE professional staff in consultation with representatives of the 
Onondaga Nation; Seneca Nation of Indians (previously listed as the 
Seneca Nation of New York); Tonawanda Band of Seneca (previously listed 
as the Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians of New York); and Tuscarora 
Nation, as well as the Haudenosaunee Standing Committee on Burial Rules 
& Regulations. The Oneida Nation (previously listed as the Oneida Tribe 
of Indians of Wisconsin) deferred to the Haudenosaunee Standing 
Committee. The Seneca-Cayuga Nation (previously listed as the Seneca-
Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma) deferred to the Cayuga Nation and the 
Haudenosaunee Standing Committee. The Cayuga Nation; Oneida Nation of 
New York; and Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (previously listed as the St. 
Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York) were invited to consult but 
declined to participate.

History and Description of the Remains

    On an unknown date, human remains consisting of 80 loose teeth, 
representing, at minimum, 12 individuals (seizure-item number 817879-1) 
were removed from the Alva Reed Farm, Richmond Mills (Hne 105-4) or the 
site known as the Reed Fort or Richmond Mills site, all of which are 
located in Ontario County, NY. The ages of the individuals represented 
by the dentition are 11 to 12 years; 14 to 15 years; 6 to 6\1/2\ years; 
and 8\1/2\ to 10 years. No known individuals were identified. The 
associated funerary object is 1 bone roundel made from a

[[Page 41984]]

human cranial bone, which was contained together with the dentition in 
a display case.
    On an unknown date, human remains consisting of 22 loose teeth, 
representing, at minimum, 5 individuals (seizure-item number 817890-2) 
were removed from an unknown location in the Finger Lakes region of New 
York, and more likely than not in Ontario County, NY. Adults and 
children of both sexes are represented. The age of one child is 9 or 10 
years. Five teeth, which represent two individuals, have green copper 
oxide staining. This type of staining is often seen in Protohistoric 
and historic burials. Prominent shoveling and double-shoveling are 
indicative of Native American descent.
    On an unknown date, human remains consisting of 53 loose teeth, 
representing, at minimum, 8 individuals (seizure-item number 817890-5) 
were removed from an unknown location in the Finger Lakes region of New 
York, and more likely than not in Ontario County, NY. Adults and 
children of both sexes are represented. The age of one child is 8 to 
8\1/2\ years, and the other is 10\1/2\ to 11 years. Four teeth, which 
represent one individual, have taken on an orange hue. Prominent 
shoveling and double-shoveling are indicative of Native American 
descent.
    On May 9, 2002, as part of a criminal investigation, the USFWS OLE 
purchased a display case containing what was suspected to be Native 
American human remains (seizure-item number 817879-1). The display case 
contained what appeared to be human teeth and a bone rondel. The human 
remains were being sold by an antique store in the Finger Lakes region 
of New York. On June 26, 2002, as part of the same investigation, the 
USFWS OLE seized further items suspected to be Native American human 
remains (seizure-item numbers 817890-2 and 817890-5), which were being 
held by a private individual, who also supplied the antiques store with 
the previously purchased human remains. The individual offered these 
items for sale to the USFWS OLE. After lengthy litigation regarding the 
case, the Department of Justice transferred the items to the USFWS OLE 
for NAGPRA compliance.
    The Reed Farm site suggests a Protohistoric or historic time frame 
and, based on historical evidence, are believed to represent early 
historic Seneca villages. Archeological evidence indicates that the 
Owasco culture occupied central and eastern New York and the Glaciated 
Alleghany Plateau during the Woodland Stage (1000 B.C.--A.D. 1600). 
Around A.D. 1600, the Owasco culture underwent a transition. Between 
A.D. 1450 and 1600, diagnostic characteristics indicative of the Seneca 
culture begin to become evident in the archeological record. Seneca 
occupation of Ontario County, NY, is well-documented. From the early 
16th century until the American Revolution, the Seneca occupied a 
region between the Genesee River and Canandaigua Lake, which includes 
Livingston and Ontario Counties, NY, as well as the southern portion of 
Monroe County, NY. Today, the Seneca are represented by three federally 
recognized Indian Tribes: The Seneca Nation of Indians (previously 
listed as the Seneca Nation of New York); Seneca-Cayuga Nation 
(previously listed as the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma); and 
Tonawanda Band of Seneca (previously listed as the Tonawanda Band of 
Seneca Indians of New York).

Determinations Made by the U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement

    Officials of the USFWS OLE have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of a minimum of 25 
individuals of Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the one object described 
in this notice 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.
     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 Seneca 
Nation of Indians (previously listed as the Seneca Nation of New York); 
Seneca-Cayuga Nation (previously listed as the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of 
Oklahoma); and Tonawanda Band of Seneca (previously listed as the 
Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians of New York).

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 object should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to Steve Oberholtzer, Special Agent in Charge, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, Mountain-
Prairie Region, P.O. Box 25486--DFC, Denver, CO 80225, telephone (303) 
236-7893, email [email protected], by October 5, 2017. After 
that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of 
control of the human remains and associated funerary object to the 
Seneca Nation of Indians (previously listed as the Seneca Nation of New 
York); Seneca-Cayuga Nation (previously listed as the Seneca-Cayuga 
Tribe of Oklahoma); and Tonawanda Band of Seneca (previously listed as 
the Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians of New York) may proceed.
    The USFWS OLE is responsible for notifying the Cayuga Nation; 
Oneida Nation (previously listed as the Oneida Tribe of Indians of 
Wisconsin); Oneida Nation of New York; Onondaga Nation; Saint Regis 
Mohawk Tribe (previously listed as the St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians 
of New York); Seneca Nation of Indians (previously listed as the Seneca 
Nation of New York); Seneca-Cayuga Nation (previously listed as the 
Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma); Tonawanda Band of Seneca (previously 
listed as the Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians of New York); Tuscarora 
Nation; and the Haudenosaunee Standing Committee on Burial Rules & 
Regulations that this notice has been published.

    Dated: August 29, 2017.
Sarah Glass,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2017-18683 Filed 9-1-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P