[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 175 (Monday, September 10, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45671-45672]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19541]



[[Page 45671]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0026100; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 
Washington, DC

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has completed an 
inventory of human remains, 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 FBI. If no 
additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human 
remains 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 FBI 
at the address in this notice by October 10, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Headquarters, Attn: 
Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) Timothy S. Carpenter, Art Theft 
Program, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20535, telephone 
(202) 324-5525, 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC. The 
human remains were removed from Potter County, 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 the FBI 
professional staff in consultation with representatives of Cheyenne 
River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; 
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota; and Three Affiliated 
Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota.

History and Description of the Remains

    At an unknown date, human remains representing one individual were 
removed from or near the Rosa Site (39PO3) in Potter County, SD. The 
Rosa Site is on the Missouri River midway between the mouth of the 
Moreau and Cheyenne Rivers. The closest modern town to the Rosa Site is 
Gettysburg, which serves as the county seat. Archeological records from 
the Rosa Site, along with oral history from local tribal nations, 
indicates that this area was historically inhabited by several 
populations. Archeologists believe that Siouan-speaking people 
ancestral to the Mandan lived in this locale from at least A.D. 800 
until they were displaced by Caddoan-speaking ancestors of the Arikara. 
Ancestral Arikara remained in the area until the mid-to-late 1800s, 
when they moved upstream to join the Mandan and Hidatsa as part of the 
Three Affiliated tribes.
    Excavations were conducted by Wesley Hurt and colleagues at Rosa 
and other middle Missouri River valley sites in advance of the river's 
damming and the creation of Lake Oahe by the Army Corps of Engineers in 
the 1960s. In 1958, Wesley Hurt and Todd Willy produced a report on 
their salvage excavation at the site. (Report of the Investigation of 
the Rosa Site 39Po3, Potter County, SD. Archeological Studies Circular 
No. 9, South Dakota Archaeological Commission, Pierre, South Dakota.)
    In 1963, Hoffman speculated that the occupants of Rosa belonged to 
the Chouteau Aspect of Middle Missouri archaeological culture, which is 
characterized as a ``late prehistoric coalescence of indigenous Middle 
Missouri and intrusive Central Plains cultures.'' A later, 
protohistoric affiliation is supported by Weakly's 1971 study of tree 
rings from sites along the Missouri River in South Dakota. His analysis 
places Rosa's occupation in the mid-to-late 18th century, with one 
juniper tree specimen providing a date of A.D. 1766. Based on this 
evidence and a larger regional analysis conducted by Donald Lehmer and 
published in 1971, Rosa is now widely regarded as a Post-Contact 
Coalescent village for the ancestors of modern-day Arikara. More 
recently, Johnson has hypothesized that the Rosa village spawned from 
the 17th Extended Coalescent occupation at the Sully (39Sl4) site, 
located downstream in Sully County and below the mouth of the Cheyenne 
River. Meanwhile, Collison describes the LeBeau and Stanley Ware 
ceramics from Rosa as characteristic of the A.D. 1700 to 1750 
timeframe. In sum, Rosa was an 18th century ancestral Arikara village 
that existed shortly before the Arikara emigration northward along the 
Missouri River.
    Following their removal, the human remains (a single cranium) were 
transported to Indiana, where they remained as part of a private 
collection of Native American antiquities and cultural heritage. In 
April 2014, the human remains were seized by the FBI as part of a 
criminal investigation.
    The human remains (also known as Individual 144) represent one 
young-to-middle adult female that, according to the osteology report, 
``likely died between 30 and 45 years of age.'' No known individuals 
were identified. There were no associated funerary objects. A tag 
recovered by the FBI with Individual 144 states ``Rosa Site- Cache 
Burial Female-Age 35.'' Individual 144 is represented by a well-
preserved cranium, mandible and partial dentition with ante- and post-
mortem tooth loss. According to the osteology report, bone preservation 
is very good, and there is no evidence for substantial weathering or 
taphonomic processes, suggesting that Individual 144 is derived from a 
late prehistoric, protohistoric or historic burial context.
    Based upon the historical record, site analysis, evidence obtained 
through criminal investigation, osteological analysis, and tribal 
consultation, the FBI believes that 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.

Determinations Made by the Federal Bureau of Investigation

    Officials of the FBI have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual 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

[[Page 45672]]

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 should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to Federal 
Bureau of Investigation, FBI Headquarters, Attn: Supervisory Special 
Agent (SSA) Timothy S. Carpenter, Art Theft Program, 935 Pennsylvania 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20535, telephone (202) 324-5525, email 
[email protected], by October 10, 2018. After that date, if no 
additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains to the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold 
Reservation, North Dakota may proceed.
    The FBI is responsible for notifying the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe 
of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Standing Rock Sioux 
Tribe of North & South Dakota; and Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort 
Berthold Reservation, North Dakota that this notice has been published.

    Dated: July 25, 2018.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2018-19541 Filed 9-7-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P