[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 106 (Monday, June 3, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25559-25560]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11427]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0027840; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Artesia Historical Museum and Art 
Center, Artesia, NM

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Artesia Historical Museum and Art Center 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 Artesia 
Historical Museum and Art Center. 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 
Artesia Historical Museum and Art Center at the address in this notice 
by July 3, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Nancy Dunn, Museum Manager, Artesia Historical Museum and 
Art Center, 505 West Richardson Avenue, Artesia, NM 88210, telephone 
(575) 748-2390, 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 Artesia Historical Museum and Art Center, Artesia, 
NM. The human remains were removed from a cave near Mogollon, Catron 
County, NM.
    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 Artesia 
Historical Museum and Art Center. The following tribes with ancestral 
ties to the Mogollon/Gila Cliff Dwellings area of New Mexico were 
invited to consult on the human remains: Fort Sill Apache Tribe of 
Oklahoma; Kewa Pueblo, New Mexico (previously listed as the Pueblo of 
Santo Domingo); Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, 
New Mexico; Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico (previously listed as the Pueblo 
of San Juan); Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Laguna, 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 
Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa 
Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; Ysleta del Sur Pueblo (previously 
listed as the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas); and Zuni Tribe of the 
Zuni Reservation, New Mexico. Hereafter, they are referred to as ``The 
Invited Tribes.'' To date, none of The Invited Tribes have requested 
consultation with the Museum.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1968 or 1969, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from a cave near Mogollon in Catron County, NM. 
A group of College of Artesia students, led by Dr. Pritchford, 
collected the human remains from a cave near the Gila Cliff Dwellings 
National Monument, outside the Federal land boundaries. Dr. Pritchford 
gave the human remains to fellow College of Artesia faculty member Dr. 
Stiff, who in turn gave them to Artesia resident Ted Carder. Ted Carder 
donated the human remains to the Artesia Historical Museum and Art 
Center in 1971. The 1971 accession record only identifies these human 
remains as an ``Indian Skull.'' In 2016, a former College of Artesia 
student provided information that led to the

[[Page 25560]]

discovery of the collection history. An osteological examination 
conducted by the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology in 2016 showed that the 
human remains, which consist of a partial skull, belonged to an infant 
aged approximately three months. No known individuals were identified. 
No associated funerary objects are present.
    The Gila Wilderness region of New Mexico, located in the southwest 
part of the state, is home to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National 
Monument. This region was originally settled by the Mogollon culture, 
who abandoned the area for good ca. 1150. Contemporary Pueblo people in 
the southwest who claim descent from the Mogollon culture have 
continued the distinctive Mimbres pottery tradition created by the 
Mimbres Mogollon branch/subgroup of the Mogollon culture.
    After the Mogollon culture largely abandoned the Gila Wilderness 
region, the Apache people lived there, A.D. 1200-1600. Since the skull 
fragment was in too poor condition for its age to be determined, it may 
date from either the Mogollon period of occupation (200-1150), or the 
later Apache occupation (1200-1600).
    The human remains have been determined to be ``Native American'' 
based on their having been collected from a cave burial site in the 
Gila Wilderness region and their identification as an ``Indian Skull'' 
in the original accession record.

Determinations Made by the Artesia Historical Museum and Art Center

    Officials of the Artesia Historical Museum and Art Center 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 Invited 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 should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to Nancy 
Dunn, Museum Manager, Artesia Historical Museum and Art Center, 505 
West Richardson Avenue, Artesia, NM 88210, telephone (575) 748-2390, 
email [email protected], by July 3, 2019. After that date, if 
no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains to The Invited Tribes may proceed.
    The Artesia Historical Museum and Art Center is responsible for 
notifying The Invited Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: May 2, 2019.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2019-11427 Filed 5-31-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P