[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 96 (Wednesday, May 18, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30259-30260]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-10648]



[[Page 30259]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0033923; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, 
Crow Agency, MT

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument has completed an inventory 
of human remains, 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 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 
should submit a written request to Little Bighorn National Monument. If 
no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human 
remains 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 should submit a written 
request with information in support of the request to Little Bighorn 
Battlefield National Monument at the address in this notice by June 17, 
2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wayne Challoner, Superintendent, 
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, P.O. Box 39, Crow Agency, 
MT 59022, telephone (406) 638-3201, 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 under 
the control of the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park 
Service, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Crow Agency, MT. 
The human remains were removed from an unknown location.
    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 
Superintendent, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Little 
Bighorn Battlefield National Monument professional staff in 
consultation with representatives of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes 
of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana; Cheyenne and Arapaho 
Tribes, Oklahoma [previously listed as Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of 
Oklahoma]; Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River 
Reservation, South Dakota; Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of the Crow Creek 
Reservation, South Dakota; Crow Tribe of Montana; Flandreau Santee 
Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule 
Reservation, South Dakota; Northern Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River 
Reservation, Wyoming [previously listed as Arapaho Tribe of the Wind 
River Reservation, Wyoming]; Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern 
Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; Oglala Sioux Tribe [previously 
listed as the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation, South 
Dakota]; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South 
Dakota; Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraska; Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the 
Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota; Spirit Lake Tribe, North 
Dakota; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota; Three 
Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; Upper 
Sioux Community, Minnesota; and the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota 
(hereafter referred to as ``The Consulted Tribes'').

History and Description of the Remains

    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from an unknown location by unknown persons. On 
May 22, 1996, via the U.S. Postal Service, the human remains--a cranium 
and mandible--were sent anonymously from Longmont, CO to the South 
Dakota Indian Affairs Office in Pierre, SD. Attached to the human 
remains was a note stating, ``Att: Little Big Horn Remains.'' On May 
28, 1996, the South Dakota Indian Affairs Office transferred the human 
remains to the South Dakota State Historical Society Archaeological 
Research Center (SARC), and on June 4, 1996, the human remains were 
transferred to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Following 
tribal consultation and a request for non-destructive analysis, the 
human remains were sent to Dr. P. Willey at California State 
University, Chico, CA, and subsequently were determined to be Native 
American. No known individual was identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.10(g)(2) and 10.16, the Native American 
Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee may recommend to 
the Secretary of the Interior that the transfer of control of certain 
culturally unidentifiable human remains proceed. In February 2022, 
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument requested that the Review 
Committee recommend to the Secretary that the proposed transfer of 
control of the culturally unidentifiable Native American human remains 
in this notice to the Crow Tribe of Montana proceed. The Review 
Committee, acting pursuant to its responsibility under 25 U.S.C. 
3006(c)(5), considered this request at its March 2022 meeting and 
recommended to the Secretary that the proposed transfer of control 
proceed. An April 2022 letter on behalf of the Secretary of Interior 
from the Designated Federal Official transmitted the Secretary's 
independent review and concurrence with the Review Committee that:
     Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument consulted 
with every appropriate Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization,
     none of The Consulted Tribes objected to the proposed 
transfer of control, and
     Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument may proceed 
with the agreed upon transfer of control of these culturally 
unidentifiable human remains to the Crow Tribe of Montana.
    Transfer of control is contingent on the publication of a Notice of 
Inventory Completion in the Federal Register. This notice fulfills that 
requirement.

Determinations Made by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National 
Park Service, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

    Officials of the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park 
Service, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument have determined 
that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice are Native American based on osteological analysis.
     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(2), a relationship of shared 
group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the Native American 
human remains and any present-day Indian Tribe.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), a ``tribal land'' or 
``aboriginal land'' provenience cannot be ascertained.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.10(g)(2) and 10.16, the disposition 
of the human

[[Page 30260]]

remains may be to the Crow Tribe of Montana.

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 should submit a written request with information 
in support of the request to Wayne Challoner, Superintendent, Little 
Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, P.O. Box 39, Crow Agency, MT 
59022, telephone (406) 638-3201, email [email protected], by June 
17, 2022. After that date, if no additional requestors have come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains to the Crow Tribe of 
Montana may proceed.
    The U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Little 
Bighorn Battlefield National Monument is responsible for notifying The 
Consulted Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: May 10, 2022.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2022-10648 Filed 5-17-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P