[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 61 (Wednesday, March 30, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18394-18395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06664]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0033639; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: 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 
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 Bureau of Indian 
Affairs. 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 funerary objects 
should submit a written request with information in support of the 
request to the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the address in this notice 
by April 29, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. B.J. Howerton, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, 1001 Indian School Road NW, Albuquerque, NM 87114, 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. 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 Indian Affairs, Washington, DC. The human 
remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Coconino 
County, AZ.
    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 Bureau 
of Indian Affairs professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah.

History and Description of the Remains

    On May 17, 1971, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from a historic Navajo site (NA11021) in 
Coconino County, AZ. The human remains were removed from a burial 
during authorized excavations prior to construction of a railroad 
between Black Mesa and Page, AZ, that crossed tribal trust lands of the 
Navajo Nation, Arizona. New Mexico, & Utah. The human remains and 
associated funerary objects were first placed in the custody of the 
Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, AZ, in 1971. Subsequently, 
they were placed in the custody of the Navajo Nation Museum in Window 
Rock, AZ. In 2019, custody of the remains and funerary objects reverted 
to the Museum of Northern Arizona. The human remains belong to an adult 
female. No known individual was identified. The two associated funerary 
objects are one metal spoon and one metal can with a lid.
    The burial was within a brush shade structure (chaha'oh) typical of 
Navajo architecture. Ethnographic interviews indicated the burial 
belonged to a Navajo person and was dated ca. 1920. The burial's 
location away from any habitation and the presence of a shovel near the 
burial structure are typical of Navajo burial practices.

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(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the two objects 
described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed 
with or near individual human

[[Page 18395]]

remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or 
ceremony.
     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 associated funerary objects and the Navajo 
Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah.

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 and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to Dr. B.J. Howerton, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
1001 Indian School Road NW, Albuquerque, NM 87114, telephone (505) 563-
3013, email [email protected], by April 29, 2022. After that date, if 
no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects to the Navajo Nation, 
Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah may proceed.
    The Bureau of Indian Affair is responsible for notifying the Navajo 
Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: March 23, 2022.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2022-06664 Filed 3-29-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P