[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 9, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 29944]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09763]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035801; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Bismarck Field Office, Bismarck, ND

AGENCY: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish 
and Wildlife Service, Bismarck Field Office (FWS Bismarck) has 
completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there 
is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes 
or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains were 
obtained from Fall River County, SD.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after June 8, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Karri Springer, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bismarck Field 
Office, 3425 Miriam Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58501, telephone (701) 355-
8577, 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 FWS 
Bismarck. 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 FWS Bismarck.

Description

    On February 19, 2015, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were recovered from the premises of an individual in Fall 
River County, SD, by FWS Bismarck during a law enforcement operation. 
Conviction and sentencing of the individual resulted in these human 
remains being forfeited to the USFWS. One individual, represented by a 
skull with jaw--belong to an individual of unknown age and sex. Another 
individual, represented by a scalp with a group of human hairs--belong 
to an individual of unknown age and sex. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.

Cultural Affiliation

    The human remains 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. The 
following types of information were used to reasonably trace the 
relationship: geographical, kinship, biological, linguistic, cultural, 
historical, and expert opinion.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, FWS Bismarck has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the human remains described in this notice 
and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, 
South Dakota; Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; Omaha Tribe 
of Nebraska; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, 
South Dakota; Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, 
South Dakota; and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South 
Dakota.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains 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 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 in this notice to a requestor may 
occur on or after June 8, 2023. If competing requests for repatriation 
are received, FWS Bismarck 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. FWS Bismarck 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, 10.10, 
and 10.14.

    Dated: May 3, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-09763 Filed 5-8-23; 8:45 am]
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