[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 203 (Monday, October 23, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72783-72784]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23287]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036759; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Montana, Missoula, 
MT

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 University of Montana 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 McKenzie County, ND.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after November 22, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Courtney Little Axe, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 
59812, telephone (406) 243-2693 or (406) 243-5660, 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 
University of Montana. 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 University 
of Montana.

Description

    Sometime during the mid-20th century, human remains representing, 
at minimum, four individuals were removed from McKenzie County, ND, 
during the Smithsonian River Basin Survey, which preceded the 
construction of dams in the Upper Missouri River Basin, including 
Garrison Dam. One individual is represented by an upper jawbone (right 
juvenile maxilla) with one ochre-stained tooth. Associated records 
state ``PN-29/PN-31, Garrison Dam Survey'' (PN numbers appear to 
represent a field inventory reference system). Two additional 
individuals are represented by two foot bones whose distinctly 
different discoloration indicates two different burial contexts. The 
fourth individual is represented by a mandibular central incisor. Notes 
associated with the latter three individuals use the same ``PN-29/PN-
31'' reference system. The notes also indicate these human remains had 
been collected during the Garrison Dam Survey from site ``32MZ0001/Crow 
Flies High'' and placed together in a specimen bag, and that a cultural 
connection existed between the remains and the Hidatsa. 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 
geographical.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the University of Montana has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of four 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 Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North 
Dakota.

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

[[Page 72784]]

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 November 22, 2023. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the University of Montana 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 University of Montana 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: October 11, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-23287 Filed 10-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P