[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 4, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14489-14490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06831]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0025194; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Omaha District, Omaha, NE, and State Archaeological Research Center, 
Rapid City, SD

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, (Omaha 
District) 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 a 
cultural affiliation between the human remains 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 should submit a written request to the Omaha 
District. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control 
of the human remains and associated funerary objects 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 should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to the Omaha 
District at the address in this notice by May 4, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Ms. Sandra Barnum, U.S. Army Engineer District, Omaha, ATTN: 
CENWO-PM-AB, 1616 Capital Avenue, Omaha, NE 68102, telephone, (402) 
995-2674, 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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District and in 
the physical custody of the South Dakota State Archaeological Research 
Center (SARC). The human remains were removed from sites 39LM0002 and 
39WW0001 in Lyman and Walworth Counties, SD.
    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. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by SARC and 
Omaha District professional staff in consultation with representatives 
of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North 
Dakota.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1962, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from site 39LM0002 in Lyman County, SD, by W.W. Caldwell 
and R.T. Carter, archeologists from the Smithsonian Institution, as 
part of the Smithsonian Institution River Basin Surveys project. Most 
of the human remains from this excavation were sent to the Smithsonian 
Institution immediately after removal, where they are still housed. 
Other site materials, including faunal remains, were housed at Nebraska 
State Historical Society and later loaned to researcher Carl Falk. In 
1989, the faunal remains at Nebraska State Historical Society were 
returned to SARC. In 1994, Carl Falk returned the loaned faunal 
collection to SARC, and at that time, human remains were discovered in 
the faunal collection. The human remains are a single human talus. No 
known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Site 39LM0002, Medicine Creek Village, is a multicomponent village 
site on the left bank of the Missouri river near the confluence with 
Medicine Creek. The human remains were collected from a burial within a 
midden. The rectangular earthlodge located under the midden is 
associated with the Initial Middle Missouri variant (A.D. 900-1350). 
Based on the earthlodge, as well as collected ceramic types, site 
features, and the house floor plans, the human remains are determined 
to be Native American from the Initial Middle Missouri variant, which 
is ancestral to the Mandan. The Mandan are represented today by the 
Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota.
    In approximately 1956, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from site 39WW0001, in Walworth County, SD, 
during a salvage archeological project to mitigate sites that would be 
lost to the Oahe Dam inundation. This project was

[[Page 14490]]

led by a University of Wisconsin (UW), Madison, Department of 
Anthropology faculty member, David Baerreis. Dr. Baerreis' crew 
surveyed several sites as part of their project and then chose three to 
excavate. While 39WW0001 was not chosen for excavation, it is likely 
that the collections were made during the survey. The collections were 
stored at the University of Wisconsin (UW), Madison. In 2010, the U.S. 
Corps of Engineers contracted with UW, Madison, to rehabilitate 
Baerreis' collection. During this project, human remains were found in 
the collection, and in 2015, the human remains were transferred from 
UW, Madison, to SARC. The human remains are a single adult human 
humerus. No known individual was identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    Site 39WW0001, Mobridge Village Site, is an earthlodge village site 
on the east shore of Lake Oahe near the city of Mobridge. The first 
excavations at the site occurred in 1917, at which time it was 
described as an Arikara village. Further studies described the village 
as belonging to the Post-Contact Coalescent tradition. Materials that 
were collected from the site, including lithic debris, modified bone, 
and ceramic rimsherds, are consistent with the Post-Contact Coalescent 
tradition. Based on the site context, the human remains are determined 
to be Native American. The Post-Contact Coalescent tradition is 
believed to be affiliated with the Arikara. The Arikara are represented 
today by the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, 
North Dakota.

Determinations Made by the Omaha District

    Officials of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District have 
determined that:
     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), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native 
American human remains and the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort 
Berthold Reservation, North Dakota.

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 objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to Ms. Sandra Barnum, U.S. Army Engineer 
District, Omaha, ATTN: CENWO-PM-AB, 1616 Capital Avenue, Omaha, NE 
68102, telephone, (402) 995-2674, email [email protected], 
by May 4, 2018. After that date, if no additional requestors have come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains the Three Affiliated 
Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota, may proceed.
    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, is responsible 
for notifying the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold 
Reservation, North Dakota, that this notice has been published.

    Dated: March 9, 2018.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2018-06831 Filed 4-3-18; 8:45 am]
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