[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62595-62596]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19599]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036523; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Witte Museum, San Antonio, TX

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 Witte Museum has completed an inventory 
of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined 
that there is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and 
associated funerary objects and any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization. The human remains and associated funerary objects were 
removed from Val Verde County, TX.

DATES: Re-interment of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after October 12, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Jennifer Barron, Witte Museum, 3801 Broadway Street, San 
Antonio, TX 78209, telephone (210) 357-1900, 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 
Witte 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 the Witte 
Museum.

Description

    From 1931 to 1969, human remains representing, at minimum, 25 
individuals were recovered during multiple excavations, some organized 
by the Southwest Texas Archaeological Society and/or the Witte Museum 
from sites that include Shumla Caves 1-8, Eagle Cave, Jacal Canyon, and 
Zubermiller Cave in Val Verde County, TX. These human remains belong to 
six adult males, three adult females, one juvenile, seven infants, and 
eight individuals of indeterminate age and/or sex. They date to the 
Archaic period. The one associated funerary object is one lot 
consisting of ``shaman's kit.''
    In the 1930s, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were collected by George Nalle II during an excavation in 
the Lower Pecos Canyonlands in Val Verde County, TX. In 2018, these 
human remains were given to the Witte Museum. They date to the Archaic 
period. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Sometime prior to 1969, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were collected from the Fate Bell Shelter in Val Verde 
County, TX. These human remains date to the Archaic period. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Sometime prior to 1969, human remains representing, at minimum, 
five individuals were collected by Richard and Ben McReynolds from 
sites in Val Verde Canyon in Val Verde County, TX, including a shelter 
in Deadman's Canyon. In 2019, these human remains were given to the 
Witte Museum. They date to the Archaic period. No associated funerary 
objects are present.

[[Page 62596]]

Aboriginal Land

    The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice 
were removed from known geographic locations. These locations are the 
aboriginal lands of one or more Indian Tribes. The following 
information was used to identify the aboriginal land: treaties, Acts of 
Congress, and Executive Orders.
    The Witte Museum consulted with all Indian Tribes who are 
aboriginal to the area from which these human remains and associated 
funerary objects were removed. None of these Indian Tribes agreed to 
accept control of the human remains and associated funerary objects.
    The Witte Museum requested that the Secretary, through the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee (Review 
Committee), consider a proposal for the re-interment according to State 
or other law of the human remains and associated funerary objects in 
this notice. The Review Committee carefully considered the request at 
its June 2023 meeting and recommended to the Secretary that the 
proposed re-interment proceed. A July 2023 letter transmitted the 
Secretary's independent review and concurrence with the Review 
Committee that:
     the Witte Museum consulted with the appropriate Indian 
Tribes,
     none of the Indian Tribes agreed to accept control,
     none of the Indian Tribes objected to the proposed re-
interment, and
     the Witte Museum may proceed with the proposed re-
interment of the human remains and associated funerary objects as 
identified in the Determinations section.
    Re-interment is contingent on the publication of a Notice of 
Inventory Completion in the Federal Register. This notice fulfills that 
requirement.

Determinations Made by the Witte Museum

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the Indian Tribes identified in this notice, the 
Witte Museum has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice are Native 
American based on their precontact, Archaic period date.
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 32 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The one object described in this notice is 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.
     No relationship of shared group identity can be reasonably 
traced between the Native American human remains and associated 
funerary objects and any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
     The human remains and associated funerary objects 
described in this notice were removed from the aboriginal land of the 
Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero 
Reservation, New Mexico; and the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes 
(Wichita, Keechi, Waco, & Tawakonie), Oklahoma.
     The human remains and associated funerary objects will be 
re-interred according to the law of Val Verde County, TX.

Requests for Disposition

    Written requests for disposition of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the 
Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES. Requests for disposition 
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, or who shows that the requestor is an aboriginal land 
Indian Tribe.
    Re-interment of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
described in this notice may occur on or after October 12, 2023. If 
requests for disposition are received, the Witte Museum must determine 
the most appropriate requestor prior to disposition or re-interment. 
Requests for joint disposition of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing 
requests. The Witte Museum 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 and Sec.  
10.11.

    Dated: August 30, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-19599 Filed 9-11-23; 8:45 am]
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