[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 4, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19978-19979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06914]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035573; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington, DC

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau 
of Indian Affairs (BIA) 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 Mohave 
County, AZ.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after May 4, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Tamara Billie, U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, 1001 Indian School Road NW, Mailbox 44, Albuquerque, NM 87104, 
telephone (505) 879-9711, 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 
BIA. 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 BIA.

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, seven individuals were 
removed from Mohave County, AZ. The human remains derive from four 
different sites.

[[Page 19979]]

    In 1964, during an authorized highway improvement project, the 
Museum of Northern Arizona collected human remains representing, at 
minimum, one individual from a burial at Site NA8964. This site is 
located between State Route 389 and Cottonwood Creek, approximately 2.5 
miles southwest of the intersection with U.S. Highway 89. The burial 
(Burial 1) contained the human remains of an adult who had been buried 
fully flexed and supine, with the head oriented to the west. No 
associated funerary objects are present. The site is associated with 
the Virgin tradition archeological complex, and based on the ceramic 
evidence, it was occupied during the Pueblo II period (A.D. 900-1150).
    In 1965, during an authorized highway improvement project, the 
Museum of Northern Arizona collected human remains representing, at 
minimum, one individual from a burial at Site NA9072. This site is 
located approximately one mile south of Pipe Springs National Monument. 
The burial (Burial 1) contained the human remains of an adult 35+ years 
old who had been buried flexed on the left side, with the head oriented 
to the south. The six associated funerary objects are one Vermillion 
Black-on-white bowl, one Glendale Black-on-gray bowl, one miniature 
North Creek Corrugated jar, two North Creek Corrugated jars, and one 
petrified wood projectile point. The site is associated with the Virgin 
tradition archeological complex, and based on the ceramic evidence, it 
was occupied during the Pueblo II-III period (A.D. 1100-1300).
    In 1965, during an authorized highway improvement project, the 
Museum of Northern Arizona collected human remains representing, at 
minimum, three individuals from three burials at Site NA9074. This site 
is located approximately three miles west of Pipe Springs National 
Monument on a large rise at the southern end of Pipe Valley. Burial 1 
contained the human remains of a juvenile 11-13 years old who had been 
buried flexed on the back, with the head oriented to the west. No 
associated funerary objects are present. Burial 2 contained the human 
remains of an adult 35+ years old who had been buried fully flexed on 
the back, with the head oriented to the northeast. The 34 associated 
funerary objects are one quartz flake, one Moapa Corrugated sherd, one 
pebble polisher, one charcoal sample, and 30 sherds. Burial 3 contained 
the human remains of a fetus. No associated funerary objects are 
present. The site is associated with the Virgin tradition archeological 
complex, and based on the ceramic evidence, it was occupied during the 
Pueblo II-III period (A.D. 1000-1200).
    In 1965, during an authorized highway improvement project, the 
Museum of Northern Arizona collected human remains representing, at 
minimum, two individuals from two burials at Site NA9079. This site is 
located within the right-of-way of State Route 389, near the 
intersection of Pipe Spring Road. Burial 1 contained the human remains 
of an adult male 45-55 years old who had been buried flexed and in a 
sitting position, with the head oriented to the southeast. The 99 
associated funerary objects are one Boulder Gray jar, one North Creek 
Gray jar, one Shinarump Plain bowl, one Deadmans Black-on-red bowl, one 
miniature jar of unknown ware, one bone whistle, 16 ceramic sherds, 9 
faunal bones, and 68 Olivella shell beads. Burial 2 contained the human 
remains of a juvenile 1.5-2.5 years old who had been buried flexed and 
supine, with the head oriented to the southwest. The nine associated 
funerary objects are one North Creek Corrugated jar, one Snake Valley 
Gray pitcher, two North Creek Gray canteens, one miniature Shinarump 
Plain jar, one St. George Black-on-gray bowl, one North Creek Black-on-
gray bowl, one North Creek Gray effigy vessel, and one Olivella shell 
bead. The site is associated with the Virgin tradition archeological 
complex, and based on the ceramic evidence, it was occupied during the 
Pueblo II-III period (A.D. 1050-1250).

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, the BIA has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of seven individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 148 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 Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians 
of the Kaibab Indian Reservation, Arizona.

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 May 4, 2023. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, the BIA 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 BIA is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to 
the Indian Tribe 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: March 22, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-06914 Filed 4-3-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P