[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 171 (Tuesday, September 6, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54528-54529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19165]



[[Page 54528]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0034445; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Office of the State 
Archaeologist, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program 
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 no cultural 
affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects 
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 and associated funerary objects should submit a 
written request to the Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology 
Program. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control 
of the human remains and associated funerary objects 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 and associated funerary 
objects should submit a written request with information in support of 
the request to the Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology 
Program at the address in this notice by October 6, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Lara Noldner, Office of the State 
Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program, University of Iowa, 700 S Clinton 
Street, Iowa City, IA 52242, telephone (319) 384-0740, 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 Office of the 
State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. The human 
remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Madison and 
Dawes Counties, Nebraska, as well as unknown locations in Nebraska.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3) and 
43 CFR 10.11(d). 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 Office 
of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program professional staff in 
consultation with representatives of the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; 
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; Citizen Potawatomi Nation, 
Oklahoma; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of the Crow 
Creek Reservation, South Dakota; Crow Tribe of Montana; Flandreau 
Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Iowa 
Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Kaw Nation, 
Oklahoma; Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of 
the Lower Brule Reservation, South Dakota; Lower Sioux Indian Community 
in the State of Minnesota; Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; 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 Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine 
Ridge Reservation, South Dakota); Omaha Tribe of Nebraska; Otoe-
Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma; Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Peoria 
Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Ponca 
Tribe of Nebraska; Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (previously listed as 
Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation, Kansas); Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the 
Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota; Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri 
in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Tribe of 
the Mississippi in Iowa; 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; The Osage Nation (previously listed as Osage Tribe); Three 
Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; Upper 
Sioux Community, Minnesota; Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska; and the 
Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota (hereafter referred to as ``The 
Tribes'').

History and Description of the Remains

    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from unknown locations in Richardson and Nance 
Counties, NE. The human remains were removed from at least two 
locations near Rulo and Genoa, NE, by a private collector. After the 
collector passed away, the human remains were given to another 
collector who notified the University of Iowa Office of the State 
Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program (OSA-BP). In August of 2019, the 
human remains were transferred to the OSA-BP. The human remains belong 
to two adult individuals of unknown age and sex (Burial Project 3451). 
No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects 
are present.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from an unknown location in NE. A resident of 
Missouri Valley, IA, found human remains in a box of rocks purchased at 
an auction around 1970. The box also contained a tag stating that the 
human remains belonged to ``Sioux or Omaha Indians.'' The basis for 
this identification is not clear. In 1995, the human remains were 
transferred to the Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology 
Program. The human remains belong to a young-to-middle aged adult male 
and an adult of indeterminate age and sex. Osteological evidence 
supports the identification of these individuals as Native American 
(Burial Project 862). No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Sometime in the 1930s, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from an unknown location near Bellevue, NE. The 
human remains were excavated from a site either along or overlooking 
the Missouri River. In 1996, a private citizen transferred the human 
remains to the Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology 
Program. The human remains belong to a middle-aged male. Antiquity is 
suggested by the condition of the human remains (Burial Project 1021). 
No known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.

[[Page 54529]]

    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, 11 
individuals were removed from an unknown location in NE, by an 
avocational archeologist, who stored them in his home. Following his 
death, his wife transferred the human remains to the Office of the 
State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program. The human remains belong to 
eight mature adults and three juveniles aged newborn-six months, 2.5-
12.9 years, and 3.5-14.8 years. Antiquity is suggested by the condition 
of the human remains (Burial Project 1712). No known individuals were 
identified. The 11 associated funerary objects are six Plains Woodland 
ceramic sherds, two pieces of hematite, two fragments of chert 
debitage, and one fragment of a worked bone tool.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from an unknown location on the Elk Horn River 
near Norfolk, Madison County, NE. An Iowa resident found the human 
remains--an incomplete femur--in the river. In 2004, the human remains 
were transferred to the Office of the State Archaeologist 
Bioarchaeology Program. The human remains belong to an adult of 
indeterminate age and sex. Antiquity is suggested by the condition of 
the human remains (Burial Project 2011). No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Sometime between 1914 and 1935, human remains representing, at 
minimum, one individual were removed from an unknown location in or 
near Crawford, Dawes County, NE. The human remains were stored at the 
Iowa State Historical Society with an accompanying tag indicating a 
provenience of Crawford, Nebraska. In 2013, the Iowa State Historical 
Society transferred the human remains to the Office of the State 
Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program. The cranial remains belong to a 
young juvenile (Burial Project 2926). No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, three 
individuals were removed from an unknown location, most likely in 
Nebraska. The human remains were transferred by a collector in Murray, 
NE, to a collector in Fort Madison, IA. After the collector's death in 
1994, the human remains were transferred to the Office of the State 
Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program. The human remains belong to an 
adult of indeterminate age and sex, an infant, and an older juvenile 
(Burial Project 785). No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Archival information and oral accounts indicate that all of the 
human remains listed in this notice were removed from the State of 
Nebraska. The condition of the human remains and, in some cases, 
osteological evidence from the cranial and dental elements, demonstrate 
that the individuals in question are Native American. As these human 
remains cannot be dated or attributed to a particular archeological 
context, they cannot be affiliated with any present-day Indian Tribe.

Determinations Made by the Office of the State Archaeologist 
Bioarchaeology Program

    Officials of the Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology 
Program have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice are Native American based on archival information and 
cranial and dental morphology.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of 21 individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 11 objects described 
in this notice 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.
     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.
     According to final judgments of the Indian Claims 
Commission or the Court of Federal Claims, the land from which the 
Native American human remains were removed is the aboriginal land of 
The Tribes.
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the 
human remains may be to The Tribes.

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 and associated funerary objects should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to Dr. Lara 
Noldner, Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program, 
University of Iowa, 700 S Clinton Street, Iowa City, IA 52242, 
telephone (319) 384-0740, email [email protected], by October 6, 
2022. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects to The Tribes may proceed.
    The Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program is 
responsible for notifying The Tribes that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: August 29, 2022.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2022-19165 Filed 9-2-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P