[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 206 (Thursday, October 28, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59753-59755]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23490]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0032882; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Michigan State University, East 
Lansing, MI

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Michigan State University has completed an inventory of human 
remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with the 
appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations and has 
determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day Indian 
Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. 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 Michigan 
State University. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of 
control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the 
Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice 
may proceed.

DATES: 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 with information in support of 
the request to Michigan State University at the address in this notice 
by November 29, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Judith Stoddart, Associate Provost for 
University Collections and Arts Initiatives, Michigan State University, 
466 W. Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI 48824-1044, telephone (517) 432-
2524, 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 and 
associated funerary objects under the control of Michigan State 
University, East Lansing, MI. The human remains and associated funerary 
objects were removed from the Marquette Avenue Viaduct Site (20BY387) 
in Bay City, Bay County, MI.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3) and 
43 CFR 10.11(d). 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 and associated funerary 
objects. The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Michigan 
State University professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan;

[[Page 59754]]

Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan; 
Hannahville Indian Community, Michigan; Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, 
Michigan; Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of 
Michigan; Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Michigan; Little 
Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan; Match-e-be-nash-she-wish 
Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan; Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the 
Potawatomi, Michigan [previously listed as Huron Potawatomi, Inc.]; 
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana; Saginaw 
Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan; Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa 
Indians, Michigan; and two non-federally recognized Indian groups, the 
Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and the Grand River Band 
of Ottawa Indians.
    An invitation to consult was extended to the Bad River Band of the 
Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation, 
Wisconsin; Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, 
Montana [previously listed as Chippewa-Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's 
Reservation, Montana]; Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior 
Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior 
Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation of Wisconsin; 
Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana; Miami Tribe of 
Oklahoma; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Six component 
reservations: Bois Forte Band (Nett Lake); Fond du Lac Band; Grand 
Portage Band; Leech Lake Band; Mille Lacs Band; White Earth Band); Red 
Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Red Lake 
Band of Chippewa Indians, Minnesota; Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in 
Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Tribe of the 
Mississippi in Iowa; Sokaogon Chippewa Community, Wisconsin; St. Croix 
Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa 
Indians of North Dakota.
    Hereafter, all Indian Tribes and groups listed in this section are 
referred to as ``The Consulted and Notified Tribes and Groups.''

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1970, human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals 
were removed from the Marquette Avenue Viaduct Site (20BY387) in Bay 
City, Bay County, MI. Salvage excavations conducted at the Marquette 
Viaduct Locale of the Fletcher site (20BY28) under the direction of 
Associate Professor James Brown yielded the remains of two individuals 
(accession number 3675) together with 17 associated funerary objects 
(accession number 3675.8) in Burial 1, and the remains of a third 
individual (also accession number 3675) in Burial 2. After the 
excavations ended, in August/September of 1970, the human remains and 
associated funerary objects were brought to the Michigan State 
University Museum. The Viaduct Site was not given a unique site number 
until the 1980s.
    The human remains removed from Burial 1 belong to two individuals 
of undetermined sex, whose ages are estimated to be older than 16.5 
years and 15 years, respectively. The human remains removed from Burial 
2 belong to an individual of unknown sex between 8 and 11 years old. No 
known individuals were identified. The 17 associated funerary objects 
(3675.8) are one antler tine point, one Lowes Flared base point, one 
lot of bone (unidentified animal), one Snyder's Point chert, one lot of 
Bayport flake, one lot of flakes, one graver, one grinding stone, two 
grinding stones, one metate, one lot of metate, one Middle Woodland 
style point, two grit-tempered sherds, one lot of grit-tempered sherds, 
and one lot of plain body grit-tempered sherds.

Determinations Made by Michigan State University

    Officials of Michigan State University have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice are Native American based on biological evidence and lab 
records.
     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(3)(A), the 17 objects described 
in this notice 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.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), a relationship of shared 
group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the Native American 
human remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day 
Indian Tribe.
     According to final judgments of the Indian Claims 
Commission or the Court of Federal Claims, the land from which the 
Native American human remains and associated funerary objects were 
removed is the aboriginal land of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of 
Michigan.
     Treaties, Acts of Congress, or Executive Orders, indicate 
that the land from which the Native American human remains and 
associated funerary objects were removed is the aboriginal land of the 
Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the 
Bad River Reservation, Wisconsin; Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan; 
Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana 
[previously listed as Chippewa-Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's 
Reservation, Montana]; Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa 
Indians, Michigan; Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigan; Lac Courte 
Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Lac du 
Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau 
Reservation of Wisconsin; Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior 
Chippewa Indians of Michigan; Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of 
Montana; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Six component 
reservations: Bois Forte Band (Nett Lake); Fond du Lac Band; Grand 
Portage Band; Leech Lake Band; Mille Lacs Band; White Earth Band); Red 
Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Red Lake 
Band of Chippewa Indians, Minnesota; Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of 
Michigan; Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan; 
Sokaogon Chippewa Community, Wisconsin; St. Croix Chippewa Indians of 
Wisconsin; and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North 
Dakota.
     According to other authoritative government sources, the 
land from which the Native American human remains were removed is the 
aboriginal land of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Nation of 
Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; and the 
Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects may be to the Bad River 
Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River 
Reservation, Wisconsin; Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan; Chippewa 
Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana [previously listed 
as Chippewa-Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana]; 
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Keweenaw 
Bay Indian Community, Michigan; Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake 
Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake 
Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation of 
Wisconsin; Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of

[[Page 59755]]

Michigan; Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana; Miami 
Tribe of Oklahoma; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Six component 
reservations: Bois Forte Band (Nett Lake); Fond du Lac Band; Grand 
Portage Band; Leech Lake Band; Mille Lacs Band; White Earth Band); Red 
Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Red Lake 
Band of Chippewa Indians, Minnesota; Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in 
Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Tribe of the 
Mississippi in Iowa; Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan; Sault 
Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Sokaogon Chippewa 
Community, Wisconsin; St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; and the 
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota (hereafter 
referred to as ``The Tribes'').

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    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 with information in support of the request to Judith 
Stoddart, Associate Provost for University Collections and Arts 
Initiatives, Michigan State University, 466 W Circle Drive, East 
Lansing, MI 48824-1044, telephone (517) 432-2524, email 
[email protected], by November 29, 2021. After that date, if no 
additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects to The Tribes may 
proceed.
    Michigan State University is responsible for notifying The 
Consulted and Notified Tribes and Groups that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: October 14, 2021.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2021-23490 Filed 10-27-21; 8:45 am]
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