[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 68 (Friday, April 8, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20882-20883]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07605]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0033684; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Sam Noble Oklahoma 
Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (Museum) at 
the University of Oklahoma, in consultation with the appropriate Indian 
Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, has determined that the 
cultural item listed in this notice meets the definition of an 
unassociated funerary object. Lineal descendants or representatives of 
any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this 
notice that wish to claim this cultural item should submit a written 
request to the Museum. If no additional claimants come forward, 
transfer of control of the cultural item 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 this cultural item should submit a written request with 
information in support of the claim to the Museum at the address in 
this notice by May 9, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Marc Levine, Associate Curator of 
Archaeology, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University 
of Oklahoma, 2401 Chautauqua Avenue, Norman, OK 73072-7029, telephone 
(405) 325-1994, 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 a cultural item under the 
control of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University 
of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, that meets the definition of an unassociated 
funerary object 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 Item

    In 1941, one unassociated funerary object--a metal ring--was 
removed from a burial at the Clement 1 site (34Mc8) in McCurtain 
County, OK. The metal ring was recovered during excavations carried out 
by the Works Progress Administration in 1941 and was transferred to the 
Museum sometime that year.
    Although the Clement 1 site (34Mc8) includes a pre-contact 
component, the ring was interred during a reoccupation of the site 
sometime after the 1700s. Based on archeological, geographical, and 
historical evidence, as well as oral history and information gained 
through tribal consultation, the ring and associated burial most likely 
are culturally affiliated with The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

Determinations Made by the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History

    Officials of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History have 
determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the one cultural item 
described above is reasonably believed to have been placed with or near 
individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of

[[Page 20883]]

the death rite or ceremony and is 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 object and The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

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 
this cultural item should submit a written request with information in 
support of the claim to Dr. Marc Levine, Associate Curator of 
Archaeology, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University 
of Oklahoma, 2401 Chautauqua Avenue, Norman, OK 73072-7029, telephone 
(405) 325-1994, email [email protected], by May 9, 2022. After that date, 
if no additional claimants have come forward, transfer of control of 
the unassociated funerary object to The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma may 
proceed.
    The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History is responsible for 
notifying The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: April 1, 2022.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2022-07605 Filed 4-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P