[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 235 (Friday, December 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70521-70522]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26768]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0033085; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office, Anchorage, AK

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land 
Management, Alaska State Office (BLM) 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 a cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and associated funerary objects 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 the BLM. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of 
control of the human remains and 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 
request transfer of control of these human remains and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with supporting 
information to the BLM at the address in this notice by January 10, 
2022.

[[Page 70522]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert E. King, Bureau of Land 
Management, 222 W. 7th Avenue, #13, Anchorage, AK 99513, telephone 
(907) 271-5510, 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 the U.S. Department of 
the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office, 
Anchorage, AK. The human remains and associated funerary objects were 
removed from the Rolling Bay site (KOD-101) on Sitkalidak Island, 
located near Kodiak Island, AK.
    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 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 the BLM with 
the help of the University of Alaska Museum of the North professional 
staff in consultation with representatives of the Alutiiq Tribe of Old 
Harbor [previously listed as Native Village of Old Harbor and Village 
of Old Harbor].

History and Description of the Remains

    Sometime between the late 1940s and the late 1970s, human remains 
representing, at minimum, three individuals were removed from the 
Rolling Bay site on Sitkalidak Island, which is located near Kodiak 
Island, AK, by William Laughlin. During these years, Laughlin was 
associated with several universities. The remains of these individuals 
were found at the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology at the 
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, where, at an unknown date, they 
had been sent as part of a study on Eastern Aleutian archeology 
undertaken in collaboration with faculty member Ted P. Bank, II. In 
2014, these human remains were transferred to the Bureau of Land 
Management in Anchorage, AK, and in late 2018, the BLM transferred them 
to the University Museum of the North, Fairbanks, AK, where they are 
currently housed. The human remains, comprised of eight teeth, belong 
to three adults of unknown sex. No known individuals were identified. 
No associated funerary objects are present.
    At minimum, the burials containing the three individuals were over 
200 years old (their actual age unknown). The human remains are 
determined to be Native American based on their provenience (Sitkalidak 
Island, AK), physical condition, and morphology. Archeological and oral 
traditional information suggest many thousands of years of shared 
ancestry between current and past populations of the area and Alutiiq 
peoples' use of Sitkalidak Island, near Kodiak Island. Therefore, the 
human remains are determined to be directly related to Kodiak Island 
Alutiiq people represented by the Alutiiq Tribe of Old Harbor.

Determinations Made by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of 
Land Management, Alaska State Office

    Federal Agency Officials of the U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office 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 Alutiiq Tribe of Old Harbor [previously 
listed as Native Village of Old Harbor and Village of Old Harbor].

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 Robert E. 
King, Bureau of Land Management, 222 W. 7th Avenue, #13, Anchorage, AK 
99513, telephone (907) 271-5510, email [email protected], by January 10, 
2022. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains to the Alutiiq Tribe of Old 
Harbor [previously listed as Native Village of Old Harbor and Village 
of Old Harbor] may proceed.
    The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, 
Alaska State Office is responsible for notifying the Alutiiq Tribe of 
Old Harbor [previously listed as Native Village of Old Harbor and 
Village of Old Harbor] that this notice has been published.

    Dated: December 3, 2021.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2021-26768 Filed 12-9-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P