[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 4, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19977-19978]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06917]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035570; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Central Washington University, 
Ellensburg, WA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Central Washington University has completed

[[Page 19978]]

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 Pacific County, WA.

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

ADDRESSES: Lourdes Henebry-DeLeon, Department of Anthropology and 
Museum Studies, Central Washington University, 400 University Way, 
Ellensburg, WA 98926-7544, telephone (509) 963-2671, 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 
Central Washington University. 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 Central Washington University.

Description

    In 1957, human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals 
were removed from the Martin Site (45-PC-7) in Pacific County, WA, by 
then University of Washington graduate student James Alexander. Site 
45-PC-7 dates from 700 to 1800 years BP. Sometime later, these human 
remains, together with associated funerary objects, were among a 
collection returned to Central Washington University Department of 
Anthropology by (former) faculty member Dr. Alexander. While unpacking 
the boxes containing this collection, staff identified possible human 
remains, whereupon the collection was transferred to the NAGPRA 
Director, who formally accessioned the collection in 2021 (CWU 
Accession Box EC). No known individuals were identified. The 13 
associated funerary objects are one bag of dirt, eight animal bones, 
one small rock, and three shells.

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, biological, geographical, and historical.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, Central Washington University has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 13 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 Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe of 
the Shoalwater Bay Indian Reservation.

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, Central Washington 
University 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. Central Washington University 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. 2023-06917 Filed 4-3-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P