[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 1, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19096-19098]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09177]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0025391; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Kansas City District, Kansas City, MO, and the Nebraska State 
Historical Society, Lincoln, NE

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District (Kansas 
City District), and the Nebraska State Historical Society (NSHS) have 
completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary 
objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native 
Hawaiian organizations, and have determined that there is a cultural 
affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects 
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 
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 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 objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to the NSHS at the address in this notice by May 
31, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Rob Bozell, Nebraska State Historical Society, P.O. Box 
82554, Lincoln, NE 68501, telephone (402) 525-1624, email 
[email protected].

[[Page 19097]]


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 U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, Kansas City District (Kansas City District), Kansas City, 
MO, and in the physical custody of the Nebraska State Historical 
Society (NSHS), Lincoln, NE. The human remains and associated funerary 
objects were removed from Harlan County, NE.
    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 objects. 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 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; Omaha Tribe of 
Nebraska; Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Ponca Tribe of Nebraska; Santee 
Sioux Nation, Nebraska; Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse 
Reservation, South Dakota; and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.
    The following tribes were invited to consult but did not 
participate: Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of 
the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, 
Oklahoma (previously listed as the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of 
Oklahoma); Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River 
Reservation, South Dakota; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Crow Creek Sioux 
Tribe of the Crow Creek Reservation, South Dakota; Crow Tribe of 
Montana; Delaware Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of Indians; Iowa 
Tribe of Oklahoma; Kaw Nation, Oklahoma; Kickapoo Tribe of Indians of 
the Kickapoo Reservation in Kansas; Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma; Lower 
Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation, South Dakota; Oglala 
Sioux Tribe (previously listed as the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine 
Ridge Reservation, South Dakota); Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, 
Oklahoma; Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Prairie Band Potawatomi 
Nation (previously listed as the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation, 
Kansas); Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South 
Dakota; Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox 
Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa; Spirit 
Lake Tribe, North Dakota; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South 
Dakota; Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North 
Dakota; Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco & 
Tawakonie), Oklahoma; and Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.

History and Description of the Remains

    The human remains listed in this notice are curated at the NSHS but 
are under the control of the Kansas City District.
    In 1985, human remains representing, at minimum, 17 individuals 
were removed from the Graham Ossuary (25HN5) in Harlan County, NE. The 
human remains were excavated by the University of Kansas under contract 
to the Kansas City District. The human remains represent seven adults, 
five sub-adults, and five infants, all of unknown sex. No known 
individuals were identified. The 2,203 associated funerary objects are 
five chipped stone tools, 250 chipped stone flakes, 581 pottery 
fragments, 15 modified mussel shell fragments, 23 unmodified mussel 
shell fragments, one modified animal bone, 1,320 unmodified animal bone 
fragments, one glass fragment, three stones, one lot of charcoal, one 
lots of stone fragments, and two soil samples.
    Between 1950 and 1952 and in 1985, human remains representing, at 
minimum, eight individuals were removed from Site 25HN36 in Harlan 
County, NE. The human remains excavated in 1950-52 were recovered by 
the University of Nebraska archeological field school and the human 
remains excavated in 1985 were recovered by the University of Kansas 
under contract to the Kansas City District. The human remains represent 
eight adults of indeterminate sex. One of these includes a modified 
calvarium (skull cap) cut into the shape of a bowl, polished on the cut 
surface, and drilled with four holes. This may be a trophy skull. No 
known individuals were identified. The six associated funerary objects 
are one ceramic vessel, one lot of ceramic sherds, one bison scapula, 
one piece of hematite, one chipped stone knife, and one ground stone 
tool.
    In 1948 and in 1985, human remains representing, at minimum, six 
individuals were removed from the Indian Hill Site (25HN42) in Harlan 
County, NE. The human remains excavated in 1948 were recovered by a 
joint University of Nebraska-University of Kansas archeological field 
school, and the human remains excavated in 1985 were recovered by the 
University of Kansas under contract to the Kansas City District. The 
human remains represent two adults, one sub-adult, one infant, and two 
individuals of indeterminate age. All of the individuals are of unknown 
sex. No known individuals were identified. The 320 associated funerary 
objects are one stone projectile point, one groundstone tool, one 
polished shell, one seed, 70 chipped stone flakes and other modified 
stones, 15 ceramic sherds, 73 animal bones, 59 animal bone beads, four 
snail shells, 93 shell beads, and two unmodified shells.
    Between 1950 and 1951, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Site 25HN44 in Harlan County, NE. The 
human remains were recovered by a University of Nebraska archeological 
field school. The human remains represent one adult female. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    At some point between 1948 and 1985, human remains representing, at 
minimum, one individual were removed from an unknown location on U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers property possibly near Site 25HN42 in Harlan 
County, NE. The human remains were assigned number 25HN9002. The human 
remains were probably recovered by the University of Nebraska or the 
University of Kansas during various field operations although it is not 
known which. The human remains represent one adult. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    In 1988, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from the Methodist Cove locality on U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers property in Harlan County, NE. The human remains were not 
assigned an archeological site number but are designated 25HN00 
(Methodist Cove). The human remains represent one adult male. No known 
individuals were identified. The three funerary objects are one ceramic 
sherd, one bird bone, and one soil sample.
    At some point prior to 1980, human remains representing, at 
minimum, four individuals were removed from an unknown location on U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers property possibly at the Methodist Cove 
locality in Harlan County, NE. The human remains were not assigned an 
archeological site

[[Page 19098]]

number but are designated 25HN00 (possibly Methodist Cove). The human 
remains represent one adult male, two adult females, and one infant. No 
known individuals were identified. The 33 associated funerary objects 
are four chipped stone tools, two metal tools, two metal fragments, two 
ceramic sherds, nine modified mussel shell fragments, three unmodified 
mussel shell fragments, five animal bone fragments, two concretions, 
and four soil samples.
    At some point prior to 1976, human remains representing, at 
minimum, one individual were removed from an unknown location on U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers property possibly near Site 25HN42 in Harlan 
County, NE. The human remains were not assigned an archeological site 
number but are designated 25HN00. The human remains represent one 
adult. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    At some point prior to 1976, human remains representing, at 
minimum, one individual were removed from an unknown location on U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers property possibly near Site 25HN42 in Harlan 
County, NE. The human remains were not assigned an archeological site 
number but are designated 25HN00. The human remains represent one 
adult. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    The human remains listed in this notice were determined to be 
Native American based on archeological context, burial patterns, 
osteology, or associated diagnostic artifacts. Based on oral tradition 
and archeological evidence, the Kansas City District and the Nebraska 
State Historical Society have determined there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the human 
remains and associated funerary objects listed in this notice and the 
Native American people that are represented today by 37 Indian tribes.

Determinations Made by the NSHS

    Officials of the NSHS have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of 40 individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 2,565 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), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects and the Apache 
Tribe of Oklahoma; Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, 
Wyoming; Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian 
Reservation, Montana; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma; Cheyenne 
River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; 
Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of the Crow Creek 
Reservation, South Dakota; Crow Tribe of Montana; Delaware Tribe of 
Indians; Delaware Nation, Oklahoma; Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; 
Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Kaw Nation, Oklahoma; Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas; 
Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma; Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; Lower Brule 
Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation, South Dakota; Northern 
Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; 
Oglala Sioux Tribe; Omaha Tribe of Nebraska; Otoe-Missouri Tribe of 
Indians, Oklahoma; Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Ponca Tribe of Nebraska; 
Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Prairie Band of Potawattamie of 
Kansas; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South 
Dakota; Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac and 
Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa; 
Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraska; Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Oyate of the 
Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota; Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe of 
North Dakota; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota; 
Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation of North 
Dakota; Wichita and Affiliated Tribes; Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska; and 
the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota (hereafter referred to as ``The 
Culturally Affiliated Tribes'').

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 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, telephone (402) 525-1624, email 
[email protected], by May 31, 2018. After that date, if no 
additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects to The Culturally 
Affiliated Tribes may proceed.
    The NSHS is responsible for notifying The Culturally Affiliated 
Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: April 6, 2018.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2018-09177 Filed 4-30-18; 8:45 am]
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