[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 165 (Monday, August 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 58615]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18495]



[[Page 58615]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036458; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Klamath County Museum, Klamath 
Falls, OR

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 Klamath County Museum 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 Siskiyou County, CA, and Klamath County, OR.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after September 27, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Todd Kepple, Klamath County Museum, 1451 Main Street, 
Klamath Falls, OR 97601, telephone (541) 882-1000, 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 
Klamath County Museum. 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 Klamath County 
Museum.

Description

    All the human remains described below were collected by the Frank 
and Doris Payne family and became part of their collection of artifacts 
from the Upper Klamath Basin region. The Payne Collection was acquired 
by a group of local businessmen around 1944, when the Paynes moved away 
from Klamath Falls, and in 1965, it was transferred to the Klamath 
County Museum. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In April of 1938, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from Lower Klamath Lake in Siskiyou County, 
CA. These fragmentary human remains (designated SK-13 and SK-22) belong 
to two individuals of unknown age and sex. The human remains of one of 
them (SK-13) are in a mineralized state, which suggests they are 
several thousand years old.
    In March of 1941, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Tule Lake in Siskiyou County, CA. These 
fragmentary human remains (designated SK-28B) belong to an individual 
of unknown age and sex.
    Sometime in 1941, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Lower Klamath Lake in Siskiyou County, CA. 
These fragmentary human remains (designated SK-30) belong to an 
individual of unknown age and sex.
    Sometime prior to 1944, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from an unknown location. These fragmentary 
human remains belong to an individual of unknown age and sex.
    Sometime prior to 1944, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Lower Klamath Lake in Siskiyou County, CA. 
These fragmentary human remains belong to an individual of unknown age 
and sex.
    Sometime prior to 1944, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from an unknown location. These fragmentary 
human remains (designated BA-76) belong to an individual of unknown age 
and sex.
    Sometime prior to 1944, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from an unknown location. These human remains 
(designated 220g-1) consist of a mandible belonging to a mature 
individual of unknown age and sex.
    Sometime prior to 1944, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from an unknown location. These human remains 
(designated 413-7 (1341)) consist of a pear-shaped skull fragment 
belonging to an individual of unknown age and sex.

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 type of information was 
used to reasonably trace the relationship: historical.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the Klamath County Museum has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of nine 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 Klamath Tribes.

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 September 27, 2023. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the Klamath County Museum must determine the 
most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint 
repatriation of the human remains are considered a single request and 
not competing requests. The Klamath County Museum 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: August 18, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-18495 Filed 8-25-23; 8:45 am]
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