[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 114 (Thursday, June 13, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27654-27655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12467]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0028047; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Fort Lewis College 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 
and associated funerary objects should submit a written request to Fort 
Lewis College. 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 Fort 
Lewis College at the address in this notice by July 15, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Kathleen Fine-Dare, NAGPRA Tribal Liaison, Fort Lewis 
College, Office of the President, 1000

[[Page 27655]]

Rim Drive, Durango, CO 81301 telephone (970) 247-7438, 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 Fort Lewis College. The human remains were removed from 
three different locations in the area of Durango, in La Plata 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). 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 Fort Lewis 
College professional staff in consultation with representatives of the 
Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Kewa Pueblo, New Mexico (previously listed as 
the Pueblo of Santo Domingo); 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 the Zuni Tribe of 
the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico (hereafter referred to as ``The 
Tribes'').

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1978, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from La Plata County, CO. Individuals were collecting 
antlers on private land when they found the human remains on the 
surface of the Animas Valley, along the western cliff edges. Some 
scattered fragments found on the cliff suggest that the individual had 
originally been placed in a crevice in the cliff face. La Plata County 
Sheriff's deputies called to the scene turned over the majority of the 
bones to Fort Lewis College, where they were assigned catalog number 
FLC 500. The human remains consist of a cranium with dentition and a 
partial postcranial skeleton (R scapula, pelvic girdle, L femur, L 
tibia, and several ribs), of an adult male 40-55 years of age whose 
cranial and dental characteristics are highly consistent with Native 
American ancestry. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Sometime in the 1960s, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from the vicinity of Berndt Hall on the Fort 
Lewis College campus in Durango, CO. The human remains of the 
individual, assigned catalog number FLC 609, consist of a cranium with 
dentition belonging to an adult male 35-45 years of age whose cranial 
characteristics are consistent with Native American ancestry. Based on 
other known archeological contexts from the immediate area, the notes 
accompanying the human remains state that they could plausibly be dated 
to BMIII to PI. There is no additional information regarding the 
circumstances under which the human remains arrived in the collection 
of the Department of Anthropology at Fort Lewis College. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Sometime in the mid- to later twentieth century a private 
landowner, Milo Dearien, came across the human remains of one 
individual during construction on 6440 County Road 203, north of 
Durango, in the north Animas Valley. Dearien transferred the human 
remains to Fort Lewis College in the mid-1980s. The human remains, 
consist of a cranium lacking teeth, belong to an adult female 30-45 
years of age. No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Based on the nature and location of the sites, the manner of 
burial, the treatment of the crania, the Native American biological 
characteristics of the crania, and the oral histories of the Ute 
peoples regarding life and death in the Durango region, the human 
remains in this notice are identified as Ute.

Determinations Made by Fort Lewis College

    Officials of Fort Lewis College have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of three 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 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

    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 Dr. 
Kathleen Fine-Dare, NAGPRA Tribal Liaison, Fort Lewis College, Office 
of the President, 1000 Rim Drive, Durango, CO 81301, telephone (970) 
247-7438, email [email protected], by July 15, 2019. 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.
    Fort Lewis College is responsible for notifying The Tribes that 
this notice has been published.

    Dated: May 28, 2019.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2019-12467 Filed 6-12-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P