[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 156 (Tuesday, August 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46009-46010]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17566]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0032430; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: U.S. Department of 
the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington, DC, and Pueblo 
Grande Museum, City of Phoenix, AZ

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs 
(BIA), assisted by the Pueblo Grande Museum (PGM), in consultation with 
the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, has 
determined that the cultural items listed in this notice meet the 
definition of sacred 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 BIA through the Pueblo Grande Museum. If no additional 
claimants come forward, transfer of control of the cultural items 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 claim to the BIA through the Pueblo 
Grande Museum at the address in this notice by September 16, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lindsey Vogel-Teeter, Pueblo Grande 
Museum, 4619 E Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034, telephone (602) 
534-1572, 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 U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, Washington, DC, and in the physical custody of the Pueblo 
Grande Museum, City of Phoenix, AZ, that meet the definition of sacred 
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

    At an unknown date, 16 cultural items were removed from an 
unidentified cave located on the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation in 
Maricopa County, AZ. The cultural items were removed by a private 
citizen and were subsequently transferred to PGM. The museum catalogued 
the collection in February 1960. The 16 sacred objects are 15 cane 
cigarettes and one corn cob.
    Expert opinion provided by representatives of the Fort McDowell 
Yavapai Nation supports the use of these cultural items in ceremonies 
performed by traditional Yavapai religious practitioners. Once placed 
in the cave, the cultural items were not to be disturbed. The location 
where the cultural items were found (i.e., within the boundaries of the 
Fort McDowell Indian Reservation) lies within the ancestral lands of 
the Yavapai people. Expert opinion provided by representatives of the 
Ak-Chin Indian Community [previously listed as Ak Chin Indian Community 
of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona]; Gila River 
Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Salt 
River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, 
Arizona; and the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona, as well as 
ethnographic documentation, also support the use of these cultural 
items in ceremonies performed by traditional O'odham religious 
practitioners. Furthermore, the area where the items were found lies 
within the region recognized by government and tribal authorities as 
O'odham aboriginal land.

Determinations Made by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of 
Indian Affairs and Pueblo Grande Museum

    Officials of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs and Pueblo Grande Museum have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(C), the 16 cultural items 
described above are specific ceremonial objects needed by traditional 
Native American religious leaders for the practice of traditional 
Native American religions by their present-day adherents.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the sacred 
objects and the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Arizona.

Additional Requestors 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 Lindsey Vogel-Teeter, Pueblo Grande Museum, 
4619 E. Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034, telephone (602) 534-1572, 
email [email protected], by September 16, 2021. After 
that date, if no additional claimants have come forward, transfer of 
control of the sacred objects to the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, 
Arizona may proceed.
    The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs 
assisted by the Pueblo Grande Museum are responsible for notifying the 
Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Arizona that this notice has been 
published.


[[Page 46010]]


    Dated: August 4, 2021.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2021-17566 Filed 8-16-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P