[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 9, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 54166]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-22045]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0028962; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Sam Noble Oklahoma 
Museum of Natural History, Norman, OK

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the 
University of Oklahoma has determined that the cultural items listed in 
this notice meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects. 
Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim 
these cultural items should submit a written request to the Sam Noble 
Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. If no additional requesters come 
forward, transfer of control of the 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 
claim these cultural items should submit a written request with 
information in support of the request to the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum 
of Natural History at the address in this notice by November 8, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Marc Levine, Associate Curator of Archaeology, Sam Noble 
Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, 2401 
Chautauqua Avenue, Norman, OK 73072-7029, telephone (405) 325-1994, 
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. 3005, of the intent to repatriate cultural items under the 
control of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Norman, 
OK, that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects under 25 
U.S.C. 3001.
    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 cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

History and Description of the Cultural Items

    In 1980, 483 cultural items were removed from the Converse 2 site 
(34Jn28) in Johnston County, OK, during excavations carried out by the 
Oklahoma Anthropological Society. The cultural materials were later 
brought to the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. The 483 
cultural items were found associated with the human remains of an 
infant that was designated ``burial 3.'' The human remains were either 
left in situ or were removed and subsequently lost following recovery 
from the field. The 483 unassociated funerary objects are one chipped 
stone biface fragment, one modified chipped stone flake, 299 unmodified 
chipped stone flakes, one chipped stone projectile point, one chipped 
stone projectile point base, one chipped stone scraper, one faunal bone 
awl, 150 faunal bone fragments, 25 shell fragments, and three charcoal 
fragments. The Converse 2 site dates to the Plains Woodland Period (300 
B.C.-A.D. 1000). Archeological research, oral history, and post-contact 
European records support cultural affiliation of these funerary objects 
with the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco & 
Tawakonie), Oklahoma.

Determinations Made by the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History

    Officials of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History have 
determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the 483 cultural items 
described above 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 and are believed, by a preponderance of the 
evidence, to have been removed from a specific burial site of a Native 
American individual.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the 
unassociated funerary objects and the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes 
(Wichita, Keechi, Waco & Tawakonie), Oklahoma.

Additional Requesters and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim 
these cultural items should submit a written request with information 
in support of the claim to Dr. Marc Levine, Associate Curator of 
Archaeology, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University 
of Oklahoma, 2401 Chautauqua Avenue, Norman, OK 73072-7029, telephone 
405-325-1994, email [email protected], by November 8, 2019. After that 
date, if no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of 
control of the unassociated funerary objects to the Wichita and 
Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco & Tawakonie), Oklahoma, may 
proceed.
    The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History is responsible for 
notifying the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco & 
Tawakonie), Oklahoma, that this notice has been published.

    Dated: September 20, 2019
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2019-22045 Filed 10-8-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P