[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16493-16495]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06129]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0033621; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: U.S. Department of 
the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington, DC

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs 
(BIA), 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 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 BIA. 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 at the address in this 
notice by April 22, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. BJ Howerton, NAGPRA Coordinator, 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1001 Indian School Road NW, Room 341, 
Albuquerque, NM 87104, telephone (505) 563-3013, 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 Arizona 
State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (ASM), 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

    Between 1963 and 1977, 40 cultural items were removed from site AZ 
P:14:1(ASM), also known as the Grasshopper Pueblo, in Navajo County, 
AZ. The items were removed during legally authorized excavations 
conducted by the University of Arizona Archeological Field School. 
Archeological collections from the site were brought to ASM at the end 
of each field season and accessioned. The 40 unassociated funerary 
objects are 39 tree ring samples and one piece of mineral pigment.
    Site AZ P:14:1(ASM) is a large village site containing 
approximately 500 rooms in more than a dozen stone room blocks arranged 
around three main plazas. The site has been dated to A.D. 1275-1400 
based on tree ring dates, architectural forms, building technology, and 
ceramic styles. These characteristics, the mortuary pattern, and other 
items of material culture are consistent with the archeologically 
described Upland Mogollon or prehistoric Western Pueblo tradition.
    In the summers of 1939 and 1940, 136 cultural items were removed 
from site AZ P:16:1(ASM), also known as Bear Ruin, in Navajo County, 
AZ. These excavations were legally authorized and carried out by Emil 
Haury under the auspices of ASM and the Department of Anthropology at 
the University of Arizona. Archeological collections from Haury's 
excavations were brought to ASM at the end of each field season and 
accessioned. The 136 unassociated funerary objects are one bone awl, 
two bone awl fragments, one incised bone, 39 ceramic bowls, one ceramic 
canteen, one ceramic disc, five ceramic vessel fragments, one human 
figurine fragment, 25 ceramic jars, six miniature vessels, seven 
ceramic pitchers, eight sherds, 18 pieces of mineral concretion or 
pigment, one piece of unfired clay, two turquoise beads, three 
turquoise pendants, 14 shell bracelet fragments, and one shell 
necklace.
    Site AZ P:16:1(ASM) consists of 14 houses, two storage rooms, and a 
kiva. The site has been dated to A.D. 600-800 based on ceramic styles, 
architectural forms, and tree-ring data. These characteristics, the 
mortuary pattern, and other items of material culture are consistent 
with the Mogollon archeological tradition.
    In the summers of 1940 and 1941, 63 cultural items were removed 
from site AZ P:16:2(ASM), also known as Tla Kii, in Navajo County, AZ. 
These excavations were legally authorized and carried out by Emil Haury 
under the auspices of ASM and the Department of Anthropology at the 
University of Arizona. Archeological collections from Haury's 
excavations were brought to ASM at the end of each field season and 
accessioned. The 63 unassociated funerary objects are 32 ceramic bowls, 
one ceramic canteen, three ceramic vessel fragments, one human figurine 
fragment, seven ceramic jars, one miniature vessel, three ceramic 
pitchers, one ceramic plate, one ceramic scoop, one ceramic scraper, 
one sherd, two lithic scrapers, one piece of mineral concretion, six 
lots of stone beads, and two turquoise pendants.
    Site AZ P:16:2(ASM) consists of three pit houses, one storage 
structure, two other structures, a main pueblo, two kivas, and 14 
storage pits. Based on architectural forms and ceramic styles, along 
with other items of material culture, the site is dated to A.D. 900-
1200, and it is associated with the Mogollon archeological tradition.
    In the summers of 1941 and 1944, one cultural item was removed from 
site AZ P:16:20(ASM), also known as Bluff Site, in Navajo County, AZ. 
These excavations were legally authorized and carried out by Emil Haury 
under the auspices of ASM and the Department of Anthropology at the 
University of Arizona. Archeological collections from Haury's 
excavations were brought to ASM at the end of each field season. 
Collections were not accessioned upon receipt at ASM; an accession of 
``none 1940s'' was later assigned. The one unassociated funerary object 
is a ceramic bowl.
    Site AZ P:16:20(ASM) comprises a pit house village dating to the 
Cottonwood and Hilltop phases of the Mogollon archeological culture, 
and it dates to A.D. 200-600 based on architectural forms and tree-ring 
samples.

[[Page 16494]]

    In the summer of 1966, three cultural items were removed from site 
AZ P:16:62(ASM), also known as Skiddy Canyon Ruin, in Navajo County, 
AZ. These excavations were legally authorized and were carried out in 
conjunction with the ASM and the Museum of Northern Arizona under the 
direction of Laurens Hammack of ASM as part of the Highway Salvage 
program of the Arizona Highway Department (project no. F-026-1[17]). 
Archeological collections from these excavations were transferred to 
ASM in March of 1967. The three unassociated funerary objects are one 
ceramic pitcher, one ceramic jar, and one shell bead.
    Site AZ P:16:62(ASM) consists of a pit house, kiva, eight-room 
pueblo, and associated trash areas. Based on architectural forms and 
ceramic styles, along with other items of cultural belongings, the site 
dates to A.D. 600-1200, and it is associated with the Mogollon 
archeological tradition.
    A detailed discussion of the basis for cultural affiliation of 
archeological sites in the region where the above sites are located may 
be found in ``Cultural Affiliation Assessment of White Mountain Apache 
Tribal Lands (Fort Apache Indian Reservation)'' by John R. Welch and 
T.J. Ferguson (2005). To summarize, archeologists have used the terms 
Upland Mogollon or prehistoric Western Pueblo to define the 
archeological complex represented by the above-described sites. The 
material culture of these traditions is characterized by a temporal 
progression from earlier pit houses to later masonry pueblos, villages 
organized in room blocks of contiguous dwellings associated with 
plazas, rectangular kivas, polished and paint decorated ceramics, 
unpainted corrugated ceramics, weaving traditions, inhumation burials, 
cradleboard cranial deformation, grooved stone axes, and bone 
artifacts. Archeologists have long linked the Western Pueblo tradition 
to present-day Indian Tribes in the region belonging to the Western 
Pueblo ethnographic group and in particular, to the Hopi Tribe of 
Arizona and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico. The 
similarities in ceramic traditions, burial practices, architectural 
forms, and settlement patterns have led archeologists to believe that 
the prehistoric inhabitants of the Mogollon Rim region migrated north 
and west to the Hopi mesas, and north and east to the Zuni River 
Valley. Certain objects found in Upland Mogollon archeological sites 
have been found to have strong resemblances with ritual paraphernalia 
that are used in continuing religious practices by the Hopi and Zuni. 
Some of the petroglyphs on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation have also 
persuaded archeologists of continuities between the earlier identified 
group and current-day Western Pueblo people. Biological information 
from site AZ P:14:1(ASM) supports the view that the prehistoric 
occupants of the Upland Mogollon region had migrated from various 
locations to the north and west of the region.
    Hopi and Zuni oral traditions parallel the archeological evidence 
for migration. Migration figures prominently in Hopi oral tradition, 
which refers to the ancient sites, pottery, stone tools, petroglyphs, 
and other artifacts left behind by the ancestors as ``Hopi 
Footprints.'' This complex and detailed migration history includes 
traditions that relate specific clans to the Mogollon region. Hopi 
cultural advisors have also identified medicinal and culinary plants at 
archeological sites in the region. According to them, knowledge about 
these plants had been passed down from the ancestors who inhabited 
these ancient sites. Migration is also an important attribute of Zuni 
oral tradition. That tradition includes accounts of Zuni ancestors 
passing through the Upland Mogollon region. The ancient villages mark 
the routes of these migrations. According to Zuni cultural advisors, 
the ancient sites were not abandoned. Rather, people returned to them 
from time to time, either for the purpose of reoccupying them or for 
religious pilgrimages--a practice that has continued to the present 
day. Archeologists have found ceramic evidence at shrines in the Upland 
Mogollon region that confirms these reports. Zuni cultural advisors 
have names for plants endemic to the Mogollon region that do not grow 
on the Zuni Reservation. They also have knowledge about traditional 
medicinal and ceremonial uses for these resources, which has been 
passed down to them from their ancestors. Furthermore, Hopi and Zuni 
cultural advisors have recognized that their ancestors may have been 
co-resident at some of the sites in this region during their ancestral 
migrations.
    There are differing points of view regarding the possible presence 
of Apache people in the Upland Mogollon region during the time that 
these sites were occupied. Some Apache traditions describe interactions 
with Ancestral Pueblo people during this time, but according to these 
stories, Puebloan people and Apache people were regarded as having 
separate identities. The White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache 
Reservation, Arizona does not claim to be culturally affiliated with 
the human remains and associated funerary objects from this site. As 
reported by Welch and Ferguson (2005), consultations between the Pueblo 
of Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; Navajo Nation, 
Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah; and the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the 
Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona have indicated that none of these 
Indian Tribes wishes to assert a cultural affiliation with sites on 
White Mountain Apache Tribal lands. Finally, the White Mountain Apache 
Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona supports the repatriation 
of any human remains and associated funerary objects from these sites, 
and it is ready to assist the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and Zuni Tribe of 
the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico in their reburial.

Determinations Made by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of 
Indian Affairs

    Officials of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the 243 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 Hopi Tribe of Arizona and the 
Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico (hereafter referred to 
as ``The Tribes'').

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 Dr. BJ Howerton, NAGPRA Coordinator, Bureau 
of Indian Affairs, 1001 Indian School Road NW, Room 341, Albuquerque, 
NM 87104, telephone (505) 563-3013, email [email protected], by April 
22, 2022. After that date, if no additional claimants have come 
forward, transfer of control of the unassociated funerary objects to 
The Tribes may proceed.
    The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, with 
the assistance of the Arizona State Museum,

[[Page 16495]]

is responsible for notifying The Tribes that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: March 17, 2022.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2022-06129 Filed 3-22-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P