[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87803-87804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27802]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037096; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of 
Natural History, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK

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 Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural 
History, University of Oklahoma (SNOMNH) 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 LeFlore County, OK.

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

ADDRESSES: Dr. Marc Levine, Associate Curator of Archeology, Sam Noble 
Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, 2401 
Chautauqua Avenue, Norman, OK 73072-7029, telephone (405) 325-1994, 
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 
SNOMNH. 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 SNOMNH.

Description

    In 1941, human remains representing, at minimum, 94 individuals 
were removed from the Hooks site (34Lf19) in LeFlore County, OK. 
Located southwest of Fanshawe, OK, the site was excavated by the Works 
Progress Administration

[[Page 87804]]

(WPA) in 1941, and the associated finds were transferred to the SNOMNH 
(formerly known as the Stovall Museum of Science and History) that same 
year. The human remains and associated funerary objects from site 
34Lf19 were interred during the Woodland Period (300 BC-A.D. 900). The 
human remains consist of, at minimum, 47 adult males, 15 adult females, 
15 adults of indeterminate sex, and 17 children ranging in age from 
fetal to adolescent. The 174 associated funerary objects are one 
undecorated ceramic pot, one decorated potsherd, 10 undecorated 
potsherds, three stone knives, one Gary type projectile point, 50 
projectile points, one scraper, one flake, five bone awls, three bone 
pins, one bone awl tip, one horn atlatl, five modified animal bones, 58 
unmodified animal bones, 21 shell beads, one shell gorget, one modified 
shell, four stone double bit axes, one stone gorget, one stone gorget 
fragment, three groundstone fragments, and one paint stone.
    In 1938, 1939, and 1969, human remains representing, at minimum, 
154 individuals were removed from the Moore site (34Lf31) in LeFlore 
County, OK. The site is located approximately two miles north of the 
town of Spiro, OK, and within the floodplain of the Arkansas River. The 
Moore site was initially discovered--and severely disturbed--by a 
railroad that cut through the site in 1885. The site was later impacted 
by extensive farming activities and looting. The 1938 and 1939 
excavations were carried out by the WPA, while the University of 
Oklahoma conducted additional salvage excavations in 1969. The 
associated finds were transferred to the SNOMNH following each 
excavation season. The human remains and funerary objects from site 
34Lf31 were interred during the Fort Coffee phase (A.D. 1450-1650). The 
human remains consist of, at minimum, 34 adult females, 44 adult males, 
28 adults of indeterminate sex, 40 children, and eight infants. The 315 
associated funerary objects are: one ceramic pipe, one bag of charcoal 
from the aforementioned pipe, 42 undecorated ceramic vessels, 18 
decorated ceramic vessels, one reconstructible decorated ceramic 
vessel, one undecorated partial vessel, 11 reconstructible undecorated 
ceramic vessels, 46 undecorated potsherds, three decorated potsherds, 
four bags of undecorated potsherds, 21 turquoise beads, one sandstone 
elbow pipe, 74 stone projectile points, 12 stone drills, one stone 
knife, one stone hoe, one unidentified stone tool, four stone tool 
fragments, 14 stone flakes, one bag of stone flakes, one modified 
stone, three red ochre fragments, seven pieces of quartz, six 
unmodified stones, eight faunal bone tools, four turtle shells, eight 
faunal jawbones, one modified fish bone, six faunal bones, five bags of 
faunal bones, three shell beads, two shells, two shell fragments, and 
one bag of shells.
    In 1941, human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals 
were removed from the Geren site (34Lf36) in LeFlore County, OK. 
Located about one mile southwest of Spiro Mounds, this site was 
excavated by the WPA in 1941 and the associated finds were transferred 
to the SNOMNH that same year. The human remains and associated funerary 
objects from site 34Lf36 were interred during the Mississippian Period, 
and more specifically, during the local Spiro (A.D. 1350-1450) and Fort 
Coffee phases (A.D. 1450-1650). The human remains include one adult 
male, 35-50 years old, and one adult, older than 20 years, of 
indeterminate sex. The two associated funerary objects are one Fresno 
type projectile point and one side-notched Reed type projectile point.

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 information, archeological information, 
geographical information, and historical information, as well as 
information provided through tribal consultation.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the SNOMNH has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 250 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 491 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 Caddo Nation of Oklahoma and 
the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco, & Tawakonie), 
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 18, 2024. 
If competing requests for repatriation are received, the SNOMNH 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 SNOMNH is responsible for sending a copy of this notice 
to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations 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: December 8, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-27802 Filed 12-18-23; 8:45 am]
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