[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 144 (Friday, July 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48911-48912]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16066]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036254; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Bureau of Land Management, Anchorage, AK

AGENCY: National Park Service, 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, Bureau 
of Land Management (BLM Alaska) 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 removed from the Northwest Arctic 
Borough, AK.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after August 28, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Robert E. King, Bureau of Land Management, 222 W 7th Avenue, 
#13, Anchorage, AK 99513, telephone (907) 271-5510, 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 BLM 
Alaska. 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 BLM Alaska.

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, 13 individuals were removed 
from the Northwest Arctic Borough, AK. The human remains of 11 
individuals were removed from or near Cape Krusenstern and the human 
remains of two individuals were removed from the Choris Peninsula. 
These human remains were removed by an unknown party or parties, 
probably in the 1950s or 1960s, and they likely were acquired in the 
mid-20th century during expeditions to Alaska sponsored by Brown 
University, in Providence, RI. Of the 13 individuals listed in this 
notice, incomplete museum records indicate that at least seven, and 
maybe 10, were found during archeological excavations, while three were 
likely surface finds. Ultimately, these human remains were placed in 
the collections of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology at Brown 
University. The human remains are over 150 years old. 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 or 
Native Hawaiian organizations. The following types of information were 
used to reasonably trace the relationship: archeological and oral 
traditional.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, BLM Alaska has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 13 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary 
objects described in

[[Page 48912]]

this notice and the Native Village of Kotzebue.

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 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 in this notice to a requestor may 
occur on or after August 28, 2023. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, BLM Alaska 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. BLM Alaska 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: July 19, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-16066 Filed 7-27-23; 8:45 am]
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