[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 12 (Thursday, January 18, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3421-3422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00834]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037266; 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 
Bioarchaeology Program (OSA-BP) has completed an inventory of human 
remains and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation 
between the human remains and any Indian Tribe. The human remains were 
removed from Clayton and Jasper Counties, IA, possibly Plymouth County, 
IA, and unknown locations in Iowa.

DATES: Disposition of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after February 20, 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

    At an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from an unknown location. Dr. R. Summa donated 
the human cranium to the University of Iowa College of Dentistry in 
1918. The cranium became part of the Dental Museum collections (catalog 
#116), and was described in museum records as a ``Mound builder's 
skull.'' At an unknown date, a large part of the museum collection was 
placed in storage. The collection was rediscovered in 2000, and the 
Native American human remains were transferred to the OSA-BP. A 30- to 
50-year-old adult is represented (Burial Project 1445). No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of one 
individual were removed from an unknown location. A human metacarpal 
was found in the Paul Sagers Collection reposed at the OSA. The 
collection primarily includes materials from prehistoric archeological 
sites in Jones and Jackson counties in Iowa, but the exact provenience 
of the metacarpal is unknown. An adult or older juvenile of 
indeterminate sex is represented by the human remains (Burial Project 
2519). No associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1916, human remains representing at minimum one individual were 
removed from an unknown location in a pasture 12 miles northwest of 
Sioux City, IA. In 2023, the Sanford Museum in Cherokee, IA received 
the isolated femur representing an adult female of unknown age from a 
local resident and transferred the human remains to the OSA-BP (BP 
3594). A label on the bone indicates the limited provenience

[[Page 3422]]

information. No associated funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown time, human remains representing, at minimum, eight 
individuals were removed from an unknown location, likely in Iowa. The 
individuals were likely excavated from a mound context. One middle-aged 
adult female, a middle-aged adult male, three adults of unknown sex and 
age, an infant, a juvenile 6-8 years old, and a juvenile of unknown age 
are represented (BP3623). No associated funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown time, possibly around the 1930s and 40s, human 
remains representing, at minimum, five individuals were removed from an 
unknown location. The individuals were acquired by a private citizen 
through unknown means. Upon his death, the family donated the human 
remains as well as his artifact collection from known mound sites in 
Iowa to the Iowa State Historical Society; the human remains were 
transferred to the OSA-BP. Two adult males, one adult of unknown age 
and sex, one juvenile aged 3-8 years, and one juvenile aged 12-16 years 
are represented (BP 3758). No associated funerary objects are present.
    In 2023, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from 13CY82 in Clayton County, IA. A partial cranium was 
found on a sand bar in the Little Sioux River in Clay County, IA by 
kayakers. The Clay County Sheriff's Department documented the find spot 
(now designated site number 13CY82), and transferred the human remains 
to the Iowa State Medical Examiner's Office (IOSME). The human remains 
representing and adult female of unknown age were determined to be 
ancient and not of medicolegal significance and were transferred to the 
OSA-BP (BP3818). Their original burial location is unknown. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    In 2023, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from 13JP261 in Jasper County, IA. A partial cranium was 
found on a sand bar in Indian Creek north of Mingo, IA by a local 
resident. The Jasper County Sheriff transferred the human remains to 
the IOSME. The human remains representing and adult male of unknown age 
were determined to be ancient and not of medicolegal significance and 
were transferred to the OSA-BP (BP3835). The find spot was designated 
site number 13JP261. The individual's original burial location is 
unknown. No associated funerary objects are present.

Aboriginal Land

    The human remains 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 18 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     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 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 described in this notice to a 
requestor may occur on or after February 20, 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 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: January 11, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-00834 Filed 1-17-24; 8:45 am]
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