[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 5, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 84359-84360]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26608]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037002; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Florida, Florida 
Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL, and Florida Department of 
State, Tallahassee, FL

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 Florida, Florida Museum of 
Natural History (FLMNH) and the Florida Department of State have 
completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects 
and have 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 Okaloosa County, FL.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after January 4, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Catherine Smith, University of Florida, Florida Museum of 
Natural History, 1659 Museum Road, Gainesville, FL 32611, telephone 
(352) 273-1921, email [email protected] (primary 
contact for this notice) and Kathryn Miyar, Florida Department of 
State, 1001 DeSoto Park Drive. Tallahassee, FL 32301, telephone (850) 
245-6319, 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 FLMNH 
and the Florida Department of State. 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 FLMNH and the Florida Department of State.

Description

    Both FLMNH and the Florida Department of State are jointly 
submitting this notice to facilitate the rejoining of split ancestral 
remains and associated funerary objects. Human remains representing, at 
minimum, 25 individuals (held across both institutions) were removed 
from Okaloosa County, FL. During the 1970s, several excavations were 
undertaken by the Fort Walton Indian Temple Mound Museum staff and 
volunteers. During 1971 and1972, the Fort Walton Indian Temple Mound 
Museum volunteers intermittently excavated portions of the mound 
thought to have held structures (based on post hole remnants). In 1973, 
a 5'x5' unit and two trenches were excavated by Lazarus and Fornaro, 
who supervised Fort Walton Indian Temple Mound Museum staff and 
volunteers. In 1975-1976, Thanz supervised Fort Walton Indian Temple 
Mound Museum staff and volunteers excavating units using a coordinate 
system. FLMNH holds the remains of 22 ancestors listed in this notice 
(Accession ANTH 81-24) and the Florida Department of State holds the 
remains of three ancestors (Accession 1992.123). The 3,790 associated 
funerary items (held across both institutions) include ceramics, a 
shell bead, charred plant remains, faunal remains (bones and shells), 
and lithics. FLMNH holds 3,711 associated funerary objects listed in 
this notice (Accession ANTH 2003-4) and the Florida Department of State 
holds 79 associated funerary objects (Accession 1992.123).

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: anthropological, archeological, geographical, and 
historical.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, FLMNH and the Florida Department of State have 
determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical

[[Page 84360]]

remains of 25 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 3,790 items 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 Mississippi Band of Choctaw 
Indians; Seminole Tribe of Florida; and The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

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 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 and associated funerary objects 
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after January 4, 2024. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, FLMNH and the Florida 
Department of State 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. FLMNH and the Florida Department of State are 
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, 10.10, 
and 10.14.

    Dated: November 28, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-26608 Filed 12-4-23; 8:45 am]
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