[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62596-62597]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19602]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036531; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Missouri Department of Natural 
Resources, Jefferson City, MO

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 Missouri Department of Natural Resources 
(MoDNR) 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 McDonald County, MO.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after October 12, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Caroline Crecelius, Repatriation Coordinator, Missouri 
Department of Natural Resources, Division of State Parks, 1659 E Elm 
Street, Jefferson City, MO 65101, telephone (573) 526-4249, 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 MoDNR. 
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 MoDNR.

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from McDonald County, MO. These human remains (a partial, fragmented 
skull) were removed from private property by Lieutenant Andy Pike of 
the Newton County Sheriff's Office, who in turn transferred them to 
Detective Pierson at the McDonald County Sheriff's Office. Following a 
determination that they were not part of an active criminal case, 
Detective Pierson transferred the human remains to the Missouri State 
Historic Preservation Office. Based on the opinion of a regional 
archeologist, the human remains date to the Late Woodland period (about 
1550-950 years

[[Page 62597]]

before the present). No associated funerary objects are present.

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, historical, linguistic, and 
oral traditional.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, MoDNR has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of one individual 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 Caddo Nation of Oklahoma and The Osage Nation.

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 October 12, 2023. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, MoDNR 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. MoDNR 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, Sec.  
10.10, and Sec.  10.14.

    Dated: August 30, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-19602 Filed 9-11-23; 8:45 am]
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