[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 397-398]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28913]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037157; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, 
Chillicothe, OH

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, 
National Park Service, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park 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 Ross County, OH.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after February 2, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Chris Alford, Superintendent, Hopewell Culture

[[Page 398]]

National Historical Park, 16062 State Route 104, Chillicothe, OH 45601, 
telephone (740) 774-1126, 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 
Superintendent, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. Additional 
information on the determinations in this notice, including the results 
of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related records held 
by Hopewell Culture National Historical Park.

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals were 
removed from the Mound City Group, Ross County, OH, between 1920 and 
1921 by William C. Mills of the Ohio State Archaeological and 
Historical Society (now Ohio History Connection). The human remains 
were removed from federal property and were accessioned into the 
collections at Mound City Group National Monument (now Hopewell Culture 
National Historical Park). The human remains most probably date to the 
Late Woodland and/or Late Precontact Periods. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from the farm of Alva McGraw in Ross County, OH in 1962 by an unknown 
person. The human remains and funerary objects were gifted to Mound 
City Group National Monument (now Hopewell Culture National Historical 
Park) by Alva McGraw in 1963. The human remains and associated funerary 
objects most probably date from the Middle Woodland, Late Woodland, or 
Late Precontact Period. The 94 associated funerary objects are one 
utilized flake and 93 ceramic sherds.
    Human remains representing one individual were removed from Gartner 
Bottoms, Ross County, OH in 1964 by National Park Service archeologist 
Richard Faust and added to the museum collection at Mound City National 
Monument (now Hopewell Culture National Historical Park). The human 
remains most probably date to the Late Precontact period and are 
associated with Fort Ancient archeological culture. No associated 
funerary objects are present.

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, historical information, linguistics, oral 
tradition.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park has determined 
that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of five individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 94 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 Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of 
Indians of Oklahoma; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Miami Tribe of 
Oklahoma; and the Shawnee Tribe.

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 February 2, 2024. 
If competing requests for repatriation are received, Hopewell Culture 
National Historical Park 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. Hopewell Culture National Historical Park 
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 20, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-28913 Filed 1-2-24; 8:45 am]
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