[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 96 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31821-31822]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10554]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035859; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Wasco County/Dalles City Museum 
Commission, The Dalles, OR

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Wasco County/Dalles City Museum 
Commission 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 unknown 
burial sites on the banks of the Columbia River (between Washington and 
Oregon) of the Columbia River Plateau.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after June 20, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Susan Buce, Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum, 5000 
Discovery Drive, The Dalles, OR 97058, telephone (541) 296-3202, email 
[email protected] or Eric Gleason, Vice-President, Wasco 
County/Dalles City Museum Commission, c/o Fort Dalles Museum, 500 W 
15th Street, The Dalles, OR 97058, telephone (541) 296-4547, 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 
Wasco County/Dalles City Museum Commission. 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 Wasco County/Dalles City Museum Commission.

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from an unknown burial site along the banks or islands of the Columbia 
River near The Dalles, OR, and Wishram, WA. In 1971, human remains 
represented by a skull with lower jaw and 14 teeth--belonging to an 
adult female were donated to the Museum by Walter Kinnersley. No known 
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were 
removed from the banks of the Columbia River near The Dalles, OR, most 
likely ``Memaloose Island.'' At an unknown date, a box containing the 
human remains and associated funerary objects was donated to the Museum 
by an unknown individual. The human remains represent a female of 
unknown age and an individual of unknown age and sex. No known 
individuals were identified. The seven associated funerary objects are 
one lot consisting of cloth (with yellow, pink and green flowers), one 
lot consisting of leaves, one lot consisting of soil, one lot 
consisting of historic nails, one lot consisting of shells, one lot 
consisting of rocks, and one lot consisting of basketry.
    Native American People from both sides of the Columbia River 
utilized the islands on the Columbia River bordering the present-day 
states of Oregon and Washington, in the north central Columbia River 
Plateau region, for burials, as well as sites located along that river. 
Published ethnographic documentation indicates that this area was the 
aboriginal territory of the Western Columbia River Sahaptins, Wasco, 
Wishram, Yakima, Walla Walla, Umatilla, Tenino, and Skin (Daugherty 
1973, Hale 1841, Hunn and French 1998, Stern 1998, French and French 
1998, Mooney 1896, Murdock 1938, Ray 1936 and 1974, Spier 1936).

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: geographical and historical.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the Wasco County/Dalles City Museum Commission has 
determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The seven 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 and Bands 
of the Yakama Nation; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian 
Reservation; and the

[[Page 31822]]

Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon.

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 June 20, 2023. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, the Wasco County/
Dalles City Museum Commission 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 Wasco County/Dalles City Museum 
Commission 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 10, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-10554 Filed 5-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P