[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 20, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57510-57512]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20299]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0034565; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Tennessee, 
Department of Anthropology, Knoxville, TN

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of Tennessee, Department of 
Anthropology (UTK), has completed an inventory of human remains and 
associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural 
affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects 
and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The 
human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from 
Burleigh and Stutsman Counties, ND, and Buffalo, Davison, Gregory, 
Hanson, Hughes, Sully, and Walworth Counties, SD.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after October 20, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Robert Hinde, University of Tennessee, Office of the 
Provost, 527 Andy Holt Tower, Knoxville, TN 37996-0152, telephone (865) 
974-2445, email [email protected] and [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published as part of the 
National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA. 
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of UTK. 
The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in 
this notice. Additional information on the

[[Page 57511]]

determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, 
can be found in the inventory or related records held by UTK.

Description

    Around May of 1976, human remains representing, at minimum, three 
individuals were removed from Burleigh County, ND, during right-of-way 
construction by Nick Franke of the North Dakota Historical Society 
(NDHS). These human remains belong to a group of nine burials excavated 
from the Double Ditch site, 32BL8, an earth lodge village dating to the 
period 1490-1785 C.E. In 1977, the human remains from all nine burials 
were transferred to Richard Jantz at UTK. Although an undated file at 
UTK records the return of the human remains to NDHS, for whatever 
reason, the human remains of the three individuals listed in this 
notice were never returned. No known individuals were identified. The 
one associated funerary object is one lot of burial soil.
    Around August of 1952, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from 32SN30, the Joos site, in Stutsman County, 
ND, by members of the Missouri River Basin Project, under the direction 
of R.P. Wheeler. At an unknown date these human remains were 
transferred to UTK. No known individual was identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Between 1950 and 1952, human remains representing, at minimum, 
eight individuals were removed from 39BF3, the Talking Crow site, in 
Buffalo County, SD, by the University of Kansas (KU) and the National 
Park Service (NPS) as part of the Inter-Agency Archeological Salvage 
Program, under the direction of Carlyle Smith. This site is a multi-
component earthlodge village, with levels dating to the period 600-1865 
C.E. At the close of the field seasons, the human remains, funerary 
objects, and cultural materials were transferred to KU. William Bass, 
who taught at KU from 1960 to 1971, likely brought the human remains 
and associated funerary objects listed in this notice to the UTK 
Department of Anthropology in 1971, when he began working there. No 
known individuals were identified. The 11 associated funerary objects 
are four lots of animal bone, one lot of seed pods, two lots of soil 
samples, one lot of animal hide, one lot of lithics, one lot of 
ceramics, and one lot of soil.
    Between 1938 and 1954, human remains representing, at minimum, 
three individuals were removed from the Mitchell Village and Mounds 
site, 39DV2, in Davison County, SD, by E.E. Meleen and Martin Thome. 
This site dates to the period 900 CE-1400 C.E. Subsequently, these 
human remains were transferred to the South Dakota State Archaeological 
Research Center (SARC). Later, between 1987 and 1988, these human 
remains were transferred to UTK. No known individuals were identified. 
No associated funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from 39GR5, a site located near Fort Randall in 
Gregory County, SD, by an unknown person. Surface-collected ceramics 
have identified a Plains Woodland occupation of the site (500 B.C.E.-
900 C.E.). At an unknown date, these human remains were transferred to 
UTK. No known individual was identified. The one associated funerary 
object is one lot of ceramics.
    In 1944, human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals 
were removed from 39HS1, the Bloom Village site in Hanson County, SD, 
by F.C. Kratz. This site is a fortified earthlodge village and mound 
dating to the period 885-1153 C.E. The human remains were housed at 
SARC until their transfer to the UTK Department of Anthropology in 
1987. Although UTK subsequently returned most of the human remains to 
SARC, some skeletal elements remained at UTK. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, 15 
individuals were removed from 39HU5, the Mush Creek site in Hughes 
County, SD. This site is an unfortified village that was occupied 
during the LeBeau phase of the Post-Contact Coalescent Variant (1650-
1886 C.E.). Based on information on file at UTK, before their transfer 
to SARC, these human remains were part of the W.H. Over Museum 
collections (accession 10.71.5). In 1987, SARC transferred the human 
remains to UTK. Although UTK subsequently returned most of the human 
remains to SARC, some skeletal elements remained at UTK. 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 39HU26, the Spotted Bear site, in Hughes 
County, SD, by an unknown person. This site is an earthlodge village 
established between 1650 and 1700 C.E. These human remains were stored 
at SARC until 1987, when they were transferred to UTK. Although UTK 
subsequently returned most of the human remains to SARC, some skeletal 
elements remained at UTK. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual, were removed from Fairbanks Village site, 39SL2, Sully 
County, SD, by an unknown person. This site is an Arikara Village that 
was occupied between 1550 and 1675 C.E. At an unknown date, these human 
remains were transferred to UTK. No known individual was identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Between 1954 and 1956, as well as at an unknown date, human remains 
representing, at minimum, 36 individuals were removed from the Swan 
Creek site, 39WW7, in Walworth County, SD. Swan Creek has two separate 
components--a fortified village and a cemetery. The site was inhabited 
around 1500-1886 C.E. A note accompanying the human remains of two of 
the individuals indicates they were discovered by Dennis Bessinger of 
Pierre, SD. The human remains of a third individual were transferred to 
William Bass by Richard Weeks, with removal and transfer dates unknown. 
The human remains of the other 33 individuals were removed from the 
site between 1954-1956, by Wesley R. Hurt, Jr. The human remains were 
housed at the W.H. Over Museum in South Dakota before being transferred 
to SARC. Sometime in the 1980s, SARC transferred them to the UTK 
Department of Anthropology. UTK subsequently returned most of the human 
remains to SARC, and in 1986, they reportedly were reburied at site 
39ST15, but some skeletal elements remained at UTK. No known 
individuals were identified. The three associated funerary objects are 
one lot of ceramics and two lots of faunal remains.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual, were removed from site 39WW8 in Walworth County, SD, by an 
unknown person. This site dates to the period 1500-1675 C.E. These 
human remains were among the human remains from several burials at the 
site that were excavated during the River Basin Survey and sent 
(probably in the 1960s) by the State Historical Society of North Dakota 
to William Bass at KU. In 1971, when Bass left KU to begin a position 
in the UTK Department of Anthropology, he likely brought the human 
remains of the individual listed in this notice with him. No known 
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, two

[[Page 57512]]

individuals were removed from site 39WW202, the Walth Bay site, in 
Walworth County, SD, by an unknown person. Based on archeological 
evidence, the site dates to the period 1500-1675 C.E. (radiocarbon 
dating with a 2-sigma probability range yields a date 1492 and 1653 
C.E.). These human remains were housed at SARC before being transferred 
to UTK in 1987. Although UTK subsequently returned most of the human 
remains to SARC, some skeletal elements remained at UTK. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.

Cultural Affiliation

    The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice 
are connected to one or more identifiable earlier groups, tribes, 
peoples, or cultures. There is a relationship of shared group identity 
between the identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures 
and one or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. The 
following types of information were used to reasonably trace the 
relationship: anthropological, archeological, geographical, historical, 
and oral traditional.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, UTK has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 76 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 16 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.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary 
objects described in this notice and the Three Affiliated Tribes of the 
Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the 
Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation 
may be submitted by:
    1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations identified in this notice.
    2. Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian 
organization not identified in this notice who shows, by a 
preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a lineal 
descendant or a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization.
    Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after October 20, 2022. 
If competing requests for repatriation are received, UTK must determine 
the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for 
joint repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
are considered a single request and not competing requests. UTK is 
responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and 
Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9, 10.10, 
and 10.14.

    Dated: September 14, 2022.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2022-20299 Filed 9-19-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P