[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 5 (Monday, January 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 953-954]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00132]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037203; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Portland State University, 
Portland, OR

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Portland State University (PSU) 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 Columbia County, OR, and Cowlitz County, WA.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after February 7, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Reno Nims, Portland State University, Research & Graduate 
Studies, P.O. Box 751, Portland, OR 97207, telephone (503) 725-6611, 
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 PSU. 
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 PSU.

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals were 
removed from the Trojan site (35-CO-1) in Columbia County, OR, between 
1968 and 1970 by members of the Oregon Archaeological Society. 
Excavated human remains were taken to PSU for osteological analysis. 
Radiocarbon dates and fur trade items from the site suggest these 
individuals may have been buried between 600 cal CE and the early 1800s 
CE. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, four individuals were 
removed from the Abernathy Creek site (45-CW-2) in Cowlitz County, WA, 
sometime before 1940, by Sanford Lord. In 1960, Sanford Lord donated 
these human remains to the Cowlitz County Historical Museum along with 
the bulk of his collection of Native American objects. On May 4, 1998, 
the director of the Cowlitz County Historical Museum, David Freece, 
transferred these human remains to PSU. 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, and historical information.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, PSU 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 described in this notice 
and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation; 
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon; Confederated Tribes of 
the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon; Confederated Tribes of the 
Umatilla Indian Reservation; Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs 
Reservation of Oregon; and the Cowlitz 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, and, if joined to a request 
from one or more of the Indian Tribes, Chinook Indian Nation, a non-
federally recognized Indian group.
    2. Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian 
organization not identified in this notice who shows,

[[Page 954]]

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 February 7, 2024. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, PSU 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. PSU 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.

Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-00132 Filed 1-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P