[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 96 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31819-31820]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10559]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035864; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, 
MT

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Museum of the Rockies (MOR) 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 Yellowstone, Big Horn, and Carbon 
Counties, MT.

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

ADDRESSES: Melissa Dawn, Cultural History Registrar and Collections 
Manager, Museum of the Rockies, P.O. Box 172720, 600 W. Kagy Blvd., 
Bozeman, MT 59717, telephone (406) 994-2242, email 
[email protected] and Eric Metz, Paleontology Collections 
Manager--Registrar, Museum of the Rockies, P.O. Box 172720, 600 W. Kagy 
Blvd., Bozeman, MT 59717, telephone (406) 994-6578, 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 Museum 
of the Rockies. 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 Museum of the 
Rockies.

Description

    In 1951, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from Yellowstone County, MT, by Joseph L. Cramer. In 1991, 
these human remains were donated to the Museum of the Rockies (MOR) by 
Joseph L. Cramer. The decedent, possibly a smallpox victim, had been 
placed in wide crack in the earth and burned. The human remains--skull 
fragments--possibly belong to a female). The 26 associated funerary 
objects are 24 glass trade beads, one copper trade button, and one 
copper wire (possibly an earring).
    On April 3, 1938, 94 funerary objects were removed from a grave in 
small cave shelter five or six miles west of the Big Horn River and 
approximately six miles northwest of Hardin, in Big Horn County, MT, by 
Oscar T. Lewis. The grave had already been excavated and was presumed 
to belong to a Crow individual. In 1991, these funerary objects were 
donated to MOR by Joseph L. Cramer. No human remains are present. The 
94 funerary objects are 24 glass trade beads, 10 copper trade beads, 
nine copper rolls (seven rolls and two parts), and 51 cowrie shell 
beads (38 complete shells and 13 small beads).
    At an unknown date, 86 funerary objects were removed from Lodge 
Grass in Big Horn County, MT. These funerary objects were purchased by 
Joseph L. Cramer in 1955, and in 1991, Cramer donated them to MOR. 
Cramer surmised that these objects were found in a historic Crow burial 
by a Crow Indian, were removed and restrung, and then were sold to a 
filling station owner at Lodge Grass. No human remains are present. The 
86 funerary objects are trade beads from a necklace.
    Around 1953, 25 funerary objects were removed from Big Horn County, 
MT. These funerary objects were found by Art Becker of Billings, MT, 
eroding from a historic Crow Indian burial located at the head of 
Cottonwood Creek, a tributary of Hay Creek. In 1957, the funerary 
objects were gifted to Joseph L. Cramer, and in 1991, Cramer donated 
them to MOR. No human remains are present. The 25 funerary objects are 
brass, glass, shell, and bone beads.
    Sometime during the 1940s-1950s, 87 funerary objects were removed 
from the Crow Indian Reservation in Big Horn County, MT. These funerary 
objects were found by Roy Marsh of Pryor, MT, eroding from Crow Indian 
burials and surface collected by him. On November 6, 1958, the funerary 
objects were gifted to Joseph L. Cramer, and in 1991, Cramer donated 
them to MOR. No human remains are present. The 87 funerary objects are 
glass and brass trade beads.
    In 1951, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from a mesa in Carbon County, MT, by Joseph L. Cramer. The 
mesa, located 1.5 miles southeast of Joliet Town, is the divide between 
Rock Creek & Elbow Creek. In 1991, Cramer donated these human remains 
to MOR. The human remains--three skull fragments, one femur fragment, 
one metatarsal, six phalanges, and six teeth--belong to an individual 
of unknown age and sex. The 24 associated funerary objects are 22 glass 
and shell beads strung between two buttons.
    In 1953, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from the south rim of a mesa in Carbon County, MT, by 
Joseph L. Cramer. This area, situated between Rock Creek & Elbow Creek, 
1.5 miles southeast of Joliet Town, contains Crow crevice burials. In 
1991, Cramer donated these human remains to MOR. The human remains--one 
metatarsal and one possibly burned bone--belong to an individual of 
unknown age and sex. The 69 associated funerary objects are glass and 
bone beads.
    At an unknown date, nine funerary objects were removed from the 
base of the north rim of a small tributary 1\1/4\ miles west of Pryor 
Creek channel, in Yellowstone County, MT, by Oscar T. Lewis. In 1991, 
these funerary objects were donated to MOR by Joseph L. Cramer. No 
human remains are present. The nine associated funerary objects are 
eight perforated elk teeth and one lot comprised of several hundred 
seed beads.

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, geographical, and historical.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, Museum of the Rockies has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 420 objects described in this notice are reasonably 
believed to have been placed with or near individual

[[Page 31820]]

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 Crow Tribe of Montana.

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, Museum of the Rockies 
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. Museum of the Rockies 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: May 10, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-10559 Filed 5-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P