[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 178 (Friday, September 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 63607]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19963]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036560; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, NM

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, Fish 
and Wildlife Service (USFWS) 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 Cameron County, TX.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after October 16, 2023.

ADDRESSES: George MacDonell, U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwest 
Region, 500 Gold Avenue SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102, telephone (505) 312-
3683, 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 
USFWS. 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 USFWS.

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from the Unland Site (41CF111) at Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge, in 
Cameron County, TX. On or around August 10, 1976, human remains 
belonging to three individuals were uncovered during construction. 
Sometime prior to November 16, 1990, the remains of these individuals 
were transferred to an unrecorded Indian Tribe and were reburied. 
However, fragmentary human remains that had been transferred to the 
Texas Historical Commission still remained in their custody. On March 
12, 2001, a long bone fragment belonging to one of the reburied 
individuals and several associated funerary objects were found at the 
Texas Historical Commission. The five associated funerary objects are 
three lots consisting of organic burial matrixes; one turtle shell; and 
one lot consisting of clay balls.

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: oral traditional.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the USFWS has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
     The five objects described in this notice are 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.
     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 Mescalero Apache Tribe of the 
Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico.

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 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 October 16, 2023. 
If competing requests for repatriation are received, the USFWS 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. The USFWS 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: September 8, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-19963 Filed 9-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P