[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73376-73377]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23541]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036823; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Bureau of Land Management, Anchorage, AK

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, Bureau 
of Land Management (BLM Alaska) 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 three areas near 
Kasilof, south of Soldotna, in the northwestern portion of the upper 
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after November 24, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Robert E. King, Bureau of Land Management, 222 W 7th Avenue, 
#13, Anchorage, AK 99513, telephone (907) 271-5510, 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 BLM 
Alaska. 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 BLM Alaska.

Description

    In 1930, human remains representing, at minimum, seven individuals 
were removed from three areas about five to ten miles apart and located 
south of Soldotna, in the northwestern portion of the upper Kenai 
Peninsula Borough, AK. Five partial sets of human remains [PM# 30-25-
150; 30-25-151 & 30-25-153; 30-25-151.1; 30-25-152; 30-25-154] were 
removed from what was described as an ``old graveyard in front of 
Andrew Berg's house,'' located within what is now the Kenai National 
Wildlife Refuge, about 30 miles southeast of Soldotna on the north 
shore of Tustumena Lake, AK. Two additional, partial sets of human 
remains [PM# 30-25-157; 30-25-158] were collected at two different 
locations about two miles apart during road construction near Kasilof, 
AK, about 25 miles southeast of Soldotna and west of Tustumena Lake, 
AK. The remains of all seven individuals, which are estimated to be 
over 200 years old, were removed by Frederica de Laguna who, at that 
time, was associated with the University of Pennsylvania Museum of 
Archaeology and Anthropology in Philadelphia, PA. Following their 
removal, the human remains were placed in the custody of this museum, 
where they are currently held. 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 oral 
traditional.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, BLM Alaska has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of seven individuals of Native American ancestry.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the human remains

[[Page 73377]]

described in this notice and the Kenaitze Indian Tribe.

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 November 24, 2023. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the BLM Alaska 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. BLM Alaska 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 18, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-23541 Filed 10-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P