[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 164 (Thursday, August 23, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42684-42686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18202]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0026061; 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

[[Page 42685]]

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 September 24, 2018.

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 
removed from La Plata County and Montezuma County, CO.
    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 Tribe of Oklahoma; 
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 Jemez, 
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 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; Ute 
Mountain Ute Tribe (previously listed as the Ute Mountain Tribe of the 
Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah); Ysleta del Sur 
Pueblo (previously listed as the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas); and 
Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.
    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; Mescalero Apache Tribe of the 
Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo 
of Isleta, New Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; and Pueblo of Tesuque, New 
Mexico were invited to consult, but did not participate. Hereafter, all 
tribes listed above are referred to as ``The Consulted and Invited 
Tribes.''

History and Description of the Remains

    In the 1930s, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from private property in La Plata County, CO, 
by a private citizen. In the 1960s, the human remains were given to 
another family member, who mailed them to the Office of the State 
Archeologist in June 2017. The La Plata County Coroner ruled out a 
forensic interest in the human remains. The human remains are 
identified as Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP) 
Case Number 324. Osteological analysis by Dr. Christine Pink of 
Metropolitan State University of Denver--Human Identification 
Laboratory indicates that the human remains are likely of Native 
American ancestry and archeological. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    About forty years ago, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from private property in Montezuma County, CO, 
by a private citizen. In October 2017, she turned them over to the Mesa 
County Coroner, who, with the Montezuma County Coroner, ruled out a 
forensic interest. In December 2017, the human remains were transferred 
to the Office of the State Archeologist (OSAC), where they are 
identified as Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP) 
Case Number 327. Osteological analysis by Dr. Christine Pink of 
Metropolitan State University of Denver--Human Identification 
Laboratory indicates that the human remains are likely of Native 
American ancestry and archeological. 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 tribal consultations among the 
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. That 
consultation led to the drafting of the ``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 tribes consulted on the human remains in 
this notice are those who have expressed their wishes to be notified of 
discoveries in the Southwest Consultation Region as established by the 
``Process.''
    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, authorized 
the disposition of culturally unidentifiable human remains according to 
the ``Process'' and NAGPRA, contingent on the 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

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treaty, Act of Congress, or Executive Order, or other authoritative 
governmental sources. As there is no evidence indicating that the human 
remains reported in this notice originated from tribal or aboriginal 
lands, they are eligible for disposition 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 evidence.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of four 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), 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 September 24, 2018. 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: July 17, 2018.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2018-18202 Filed 8-22-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P