[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87804-87807]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27791]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037081; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Office of the State Archaeologist 
Bioarchaeology Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

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 Office of the State Archaeologist

[[Page 87805]]

Bioarchaeology Program (OSA-BP) has completed an inventory of human 
remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there 
is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated 
funerary objects and any Indian Tribe. The human remains and associated 
funerary objects were removed from Boone, Cass, Cherokee, Clayton, 
Clinton, Dickinson, Dubuque, Marshall, Monona, Muscatine, Page, 
Plymouth, Pottawattamie, Story, and Woodbury Counties, IA.

DATES: Disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
in this notice may occur on or after January 18, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Lara Noldner, Office of the State Archaeologist 
Bioarchaeology Program, University of Iowa, 700 S Clinton Street, Iowa 
City, IA 52242, telephone (319) 384-0740, 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 
OSA-BP. 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 OSA-BP.

Description

    In June 2009, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from 13PM247 in Plymouth County, IA. Very small 
cranial fragments were found on the surface of the known Archaic Period 
site by a local collector and were transferred to the OSA-BP. An 
individual of unknown age and sex is represented by the human remains 
(Burial Project 3084). No associated funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from an unknown location, presumed to be in 
Iowa. In 2016, a private citizen transferred to the OSA-BP human 
remains which he had inherited from a deceased relative with no 
provenience information. A middle adult male and a young adult of 
indeterminate sex are represented by the cranial remains (Burial 
Project 3184). No associated funerary objects are present.
    In the 1950s and 1960s, human remains representing, at minimum, 16 
individuals were removed from mound sites 13DB40 and 13DB1140 in 
Dubuque County, IA, as well as from a mound site of unknown location 
(reported as Richards Mound group) likely in Grant County, WI. The 
human remains were excavated by amateurs and curated in private homes 
until one of the excavators passed away. A descendant of the excavator 
transferred commingled human remains from all three sites to the OSA-BP 
in May 2016. Seven adults, including at least one female and three 
males, are represented, as well as eight juveniles of the following 
ages: 1.5-2.5 years, 2.5-4.5 years, 4.5-6.5 years, around 5.5 years, 
7.5-9.5 years, 10.5-11.5 years, 11.5-13.5 years, and >14.5-15.5. The 
sixteenth individual is a likely juvenile, but age could not be 
estimated (Burial Project 3189). The 14 associated funerary objects are 
seven freshwater shell fragments, four small faunal bones, two pieces 
of baked clay, and one small piece of limestone.
    In 2015 and 2016, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from 13DK96, likely a winter campsite, in 
Dickinson County, IA. During field school excavations conducted in 2015 
and 2016 by the University of Iowa Department of Anthropology, three 
isolated human bone fragments originally thought to be faunal were 
recovered. Once identified as human, these remains were transferred to 
the OSA-BP. A child approximately 10-to-12 years old is represented by 
the human remains (Burial Project 3205). No associated funerary objects 
are present.
    In 1939, human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals 
were removed from 13CK98, a precontact cemetery, in Cherokee County, 
IA. The human remains were discovered by a Civilian Conservation Corps 
crew digging a gravel pit on the property of a local farmer. The farmer 
kept the cranial remains in a house that was passed down to his 
descendants. Grandchildren of the farmer transferred the human remains 
to the OSA-BP in 2017. An old adult male and a young-to-middle adult 
female are represented by the human remains (Burial Project 3214). The 
one associated funerary object is a flat copper object, which appears 
to be a pendant.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from an unknown location, possibly in 
northwestern Iowa. The unprovenienced remains, a single human tooth, 
were discovered in a desk drawer at the Sanford Museum in Cherokee, 
Cherokee County, IA. The discovery of the tooth with papers belonging 
to an archeological society suggests an archeological origin for the 
human remains, potentially a Native American site. No additional 
information is available. The human remains were transferred to the 
OSA-BP in 2017. An adult of unknown age and sex is represented by the 
tooth (Burial Project 3246). No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    In September 2017, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Muscatine County, IA. A private citizen 
discovered a partial cranium in the Cedar River (find spot 13MC350). 
The original location of the cranium is unknown. The find was reported 
to the Muscatine County Sheriff's Office, which collected the human 
remains and transferred them to the OSA-BP. An adult of unknown sex is 
represented by the human remains (Burial Project 3287). No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    In August 2018, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Cass County, IA. The human remains were 
discovered on a sandbar in the East Nishnabotna River (find spot 
13CA79) by a private citizen who then transferred the human remains to 
the OSA-BP. An adult of unknown age, possibly female, is represented by 
the partial mandible (Burial Project 3375). No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, eight 
individuals were removed from an unknown location or locations in Iowa. 
Sometime in the 1970s, these human remains were transferred by Iowa 
archeologists to a forensic anthropologist at Kansas State University. 
In 2018, an anthropology professor at Kansas State identified the 
skeletal remains as originating from Iowa and transferred them to the 
OSA-BP in 2019. Three older adults, two adolescents or young adults, 
two young children (1.0-4.0 years), and one fetal to newborn individual 
are represented by the incomplete and fragmented remains (Burial 
Project 3402). No associated funerary objects are present.
    In July 2019, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Page County, IA. A partial human cranium 
was discovered by private citizens on a sandbar (find spot 13PA124) in 
the East Nishnabotna River. Page County Sheriff's deputies recovered 
the human remains and sent them to the Iowa Office of the State Medical 
Examiner (SME case #19-03834). A forensic anthropologist with Des 
Moines University determined that the human remains were too old to be 
of forensic

[[Page 87806]]

significance and were likely Native American. The State Medical 
Examiner transferred the human remains to the OSA-BP in August 2019. A 
middle adult female is represented by the human remains (Burial Project 
3456). No associated funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, four 
individuals were removed from an unknown location or locations in Iowa. 
Human remains were discovered on display at Jim's History Barn in 
Peterson, IA, by a Sanford Museum archeologist and reported to the OSA. 
Many bones that the elements were displayed with had site numbers 
written on them but these were without labels; given their similar 
coloration to labeled elements they are likely from sites in northwest 
Iowa as well. The human remains were confiscated by the OSA-BP in 2019. 
Four adults, one of unknown age beyond the category of adult, two 
middle-aged adults and one younger to middle-aged adult are represented 
by the incomplete and fragmented remains (BP3474). No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Between 2000 and 2009, human remains representing, at minimum, 
three individuals were removed from various locations in Iowa, 
potentially from Clinton in Clinton County. The human remains were 
initially collected and stored by Jim Pilgrim; they were transferred to 
the OSA-BP in December of 2019. The cranial and postcranial fragments 
represent three individuals: one adult of indeterminate sex, one adult 
male and one possible juvenile (BP3477). The 22 associated funerary 
objects are 10 faunal bones,11 pieces of stone, and one piece of black 
flint that has been flaked.
    In 2019, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from Pottawattamie County, IA. A private citizen contacted 
the OSA for identification of an isolated bone fragment he had found 
while metal detecting. It was confirmed to be human, and it was 
transferred to the OSA-BP in December 2019, as other sites in the 
vicinity are known to include ancient burials. The find spot was 
designated 13PW391. An adult of unknown age and sex is represented by a 
tibial fragment (Burial Project 3483). No associated funerary objected 
are present.
    In 2021, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual was 
removed from 13MN87 in Monona County, IA. On March 30, 2020, the Iowa 
Department of Natural Resources contacted the OSA to report a skull 
eroding along a road cut bank in the Loess Hills. The human remains 
were left in place and covered with clean fill. A year later the human 
remains were re-exposed, so were collected by the OSA-BP in 2021. A 
juvenile of unknown age is represented by a partial fragmented cranium 
(Burial Project 3498). No associated funerary objects are present.
    In August 2020, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Clayton County, IA. Kayakers found a 
partial maxilla and zygomatic on the bank of the Turkey River in 
Elkader, IA (find spot 13CT477), and turned it over to the Clayton 
County Sheriff's Office. The Clayton County Sheriff's Office contacted 
the OSA and in August 2020, the human remains were transferred to the 
OSA-BP. An adult of indeterminate sex around the age of 20-35 years old 
is represented by the human remains (Burial Project 3530). No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    In October 2020, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Woodbury County, IA. A private citizen 
informed the Woodbury County Sheriff's Office that he had discovered 
part of a human cranium in the Little Sioux River (find spot 13WD232). 
The original burial location of the cranium is unknown. The sheriff's 
office transferred the cranial fragment to the Iowa Office of the State 
Medical Examiner, where the human remains were determined not to be of 
forensic significance (SME Case#: 20-03037). The cranial remains were 
transferred to the OSA-BP in November 2020. An adult of unknown age and 
sex is represented by the left parietal (Burial Project 3544). No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    On July 3, 2021, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Cherokee County, IA. A human mandible was 
found by kayakers on a sandbar in the Little Sioux River (find spot 
13CK175). The mandible was brought to the Cherokee County Sheriff's 
Office on July 10, 2021 and transferred to the OSA-BP on July 30, 2021. 
One middle-aged male (35-50 years) is represented by an almost complete 
mandible (BP3617). No associated funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown time, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from 13BN323, a village site with associated 
mounds, in Boone County, IA. The human remains were identified among 
faunal remains in the 2022 Jimmie Thompson Donation to the OSA. The 
human remains consist of a single mandibular right first molar. Dental 
wear indicates a middle-aged adult individual of Native American 
ancestry is represented; sex is indeterminate (BP3686). No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown time, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from 13SR5 in Story County, IA. The human 
remains came to the OSA through the 2022 Jimmie Thompson Donation with 
other artifacts from the site. The human remains include three rib 
fragments and one manubrium fragment and represent an adult individual 
of indeterminate age and sex (BP3693). No associated funerary objects 
are present.
    At an unknown time, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from the Ioway Creek in Boone County north of 
Ames, IA (find spot 13BN491), by collector Jimmie Thompson. Mr. 
Thompson's collection was donated to the OSA in May 2022. In August 
2022, a human mandible fragment was identified by OSA lab staff during 
the processing of the collection and was transferred to the OSA-BP. One 
adult probable male is represented by the mandible fragment (BP3706). 
No associated funerary objects are present.
    On August 10, 2022, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Marshall County, IA. A human mandible was 
found on a sandbar in the Iowa River (find spot 13MR501) by Marshall 
County Conservation volunteers surveying the river near Timmons Grove 
County Park. The volunteers contacted the Marshall County Sheriff's 
Office who contacted the Iowa State Medical Examiner. The mandible was 
transferred to the OSA-BP after the Medical Examiner's determination on 
August 11, 2022, that the human remains were not of forensic 
significance (SME Case#: 22-27091). One middle aged male (30-50) is 
represented by an almost complete mandible (BP3708). No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown date human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Monona County, IA. A mostly complete right 
parietal, articulating left parietal fragment, and partial mandible 
with five associated teeth were collected from a farm field near 
Castana, IA, by a farmer and given to private citizen of Mapleton, IA. 
The citizen's wife transferred the human remains to the Mapleton Museum 
in the late 1990s. The museum curator transferred the human remains to 
the Monona County Sheriff's Office in 2021 and the Sheriff transferred 
the human remains to the OSA in February of 2023. On older adult male 
(50+ years old) is represented by the cranial

[[Page 87807]]

elements and mandible (BP3757). No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    At an unknown date, possibly between the 1960s and 2009, human 
remains representing, at minimum, three individuals were removed from 
an unknown location, likely within the vicinity of Clinton, IA, by a 
private collector. Upon the private collectors passing his family 
transferred the human remains to the OSA in March of 2023. One juvenile 
individual aged birth to two years and two adult males are represented 
(BP3770). The 16 associated funerary objects include one black chert 
early-stage biface, one white chert point base, and 14 shell fragments.
    At an unknown date human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from an unknown location, likely in the 
vicinity of Clinton, IA, by a private collector. Upon his passing his 
family transferred the human remains to the OSA in March of 2023. The 
human remains include on left tibia midsection from an adult individual 
(BP3772). The human remains represent one adult individual. No 
associated funerary objects are present.

Aboriginal Land

    The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice 
were removed from known geographic locations. These locations are the 
aboriginal lands of one or more Indian Tribes. The following 
information was used to identify the aboriginal land: a final judgment 
of the Indian Claims Commission or the United States Court of Claims, 
treaties, oral history, and consultation with 26 signatory Tribes to 
the Process for Reburial of Culturally Unidentifiable Native American 
Human Remains and Associated Funerary Objects originating from Iowa.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, the OSA-BP has 
determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 55 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 53 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.
     No relationship of shared group identity can be reasonably 
traced between the human remains and associated funerary objects and 
any Indian Tribe.
     The human remains and associated funerary objects 
described in this notice were removed from the aboriginal land of the 
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South 
Dakota; Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma; Flandreau Santee Sioux 
Tribe of South Dakota; Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Iowa Tribe of 
Kansas and Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Lower Sioux Indian 
Community in the State of Minnesota; Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Omaha 
Tribe of Nebraska; Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma; Pawnee 
Nation of Oklahoma; Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Ponca Tribe of 
Indians of Oklahoma; Ponca Tribe of Nebraska; Prairie Band Potawatomi 
Nation; Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox 
Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa; Santee 
Sioux Nation, Nebraska; Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse 
Reservation, South Dakota; Spirit Lake Tribe, North Dakota;, The Osage 
Nation; Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North 
Dakota; Upper Sioux Community, Minnesota; Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska; 
and the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.

Requests for Disposition

    Written requests for disposition of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the 
Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES. Requests for disposition 
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, or who shows that the requestor is an aboriginal land 
Indian Tribe.
    Disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after January 
18, 2024. If competing requests for disposition are received, the OSA-
BP must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to disposition. 
Requests for joint disposition of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing 
requests. The OSA-BP 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 and 
10.11.

    Dated: December 8, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-27791 Filed 12-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P