[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11937-11938]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03814]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035384; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Oregon, Museum of 
Natural and Cultural History, Eugene, OR

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 Oregon, Museum of Natural 
and Cultural History 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

[[Page 11938]]

and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The 
human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Curry 
County, Oregon.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after March 27, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Pamela Endzweig, Director of Anthropological 
Collections, University of Oregon, Museum of Natural and Cultural 
History, 1224 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1224, telephone 
541-346-5120, email [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 the 
University of Oregon, Museum of Natural and Cultural History. The 
National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this 
notice. Additional information on the determinations in this notice, 
including the results of consultation, can be found in the inventory or 
related records held by the University of Oregon, Museum of Natural and 
Cultural History.

Description

    In 1936 and 1937, human remains representing, at minimum, 33 
individuals, were removed from Nateneten or NaLtene'ten, also known as 
Lone Ranch Creek Shell Mound (35CU37), an Athabaskan village, burial 
ground, and midden, in Curry County, OR. It is unknown when the site 
was first used, but radiocarbon dates of 28060 RYBP and 
101080 RYBP are consistent with a late occupation, and 
excavations from the 1930s report no Euroamerican items from the site. 
No Euroamerican materials were found with the burials. The human 
remains were removed by J. Berreman of Stanford University and later 
transferred to the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural 
History. Skeletal analyses indicate that the often fragmentary and 
partial human remains belong to six juveniles, 19 young adult and adult 
females, seven young adult and adult males, and one adult of 
indeterminate sex. No known individuals were identified. The 1,061 
associated objects include 20 shell ornaments, 987 olivella shell 
beads, three stone and clay pipes, 14 bone pendants also known as 
``head scratchers,'' one net sinker, one wedge, one possible gaming 
piece, 21 clam shells, three fish vertebrae, one pigment specimen, four 
stone projectile points, and five other bone and shell artifacts.
    In 1936 and 1937, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals, were removed from the Rainbow Rock locality (35CU37a), 
about a mile south of Nateneten or NaLtene'ten, in Curry County, OR. 
There is no further provenience information, which is described as 
``two small shell deposits on the sloping hillside above Rainbow Rock . 
. . about 100 yards from the beach.'' The human remains were removed by 
J. Berreman of Stanford University and later transferred to the 
University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History. Skeletal 
analyses indicate that the human remains belong to two adult males. No 
known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    In 1952, human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals, 
were removed by a private party from the surface of the south bank of 
the Chetco River, in Curry County, OR. There is no further provenience 
information. Skeletal analyses indicate that the fragmentary human 
remains represent two adults of indeterminate sex. No known individuals 
were identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Historical Documents, ethnographic sources, and oral history 
indicate that Chetco people have occupied this area of the southern 
Oregon coast since pre-contact times. Based on archeological context 
and/or skeletal evidence, the individuals described above were 
determined to be Native American, of possible Chetco cultural 
affiliation.

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: archeological, historical, ethnographic, and oral 
traditional.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the University of Oregon, Museum of Natural and Cultural 
History has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 37 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 1,061 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 Confederated Tribes of Siletz 
Indians of Oregon; Elk Valley Rancheria, California; and the Tolowa 
Dee-ni' Nation.

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 March 27, 2023. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, the University of 
Oregon, Museum of Natural and Cultural History 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. The University 
of Oregon, Museum of Natural and Cultural History is responsible for 
sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes 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, Sec.  
10.10, and Sec.  10.14.

    Dated: February 15, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-03814 Filed 2-23-23; 8:45 am]
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