[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 27 (Thursday, February 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8719-8720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02550]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037342; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Central Washington University, 
Ellensburg, WA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Central Washington University has completed 
an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects 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 Grant and Kittitas Counties, WA.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after March 11, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Lourdes Henebry-DeLeon, Department of Anthropology and 
Museum Studies, Central Washington University, 400 University Way, 
Ellensburg, WA 98926-7544, telephone (509) 963-2671, 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 
Central Washington University. 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 Central Washington University.

Description

    Between 1925 and 1990, human remains representing at minimum, 65 
individuals were removed from Kittitas and Grant Counties, WA. Five 
lots of associated funerary objects are present.
    Between 1925 and 1935, human remains representing, at minimum, 32 
individuals were removed from Whiskey Dick Bar, site 45-KT-17, in 
Kittitas County, WA, by Dr. Linus Walker. In 1953, Dr. Walker donated 
the remains to Central Washington University. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    Between 1935 and 1937, CWU Professor George Beck removed human 
remains representing at minimum, four individuals during a fossil 
collecting expedition in Kittitas County, WA. One individual was in a 
grave at Whiskey Dick Bar, (45-KT-17), two individuals were removed 
from the area near the town of Vantage, and one individual from 
Montgomery Bar, site 45-KT-8. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Between 1953-1954, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from the Cedar Cave, site 45-KT-20 in Kittitas 
County, WA, as part of a University of Washington field expedition by 
Dr. Earl Swanson. Subsequently, the Burke Museum donated these human 
remains to Central Washington University. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    In the 1970's and 1980's human remains representing, at minimum, 11 
individuals were removed from the area near the town of Vantage in 
Kittitas County, WA, by unknown individuals and donated to Central 
Washington University. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In the early 1900s, human remains representing, at minimum, 13 
individuals were removed from ``Middle Columbia River'', in Kittitas 
County, WA, by private collectors. Subsequently, these human remains 
were donated to Central Washington University by unknown individuals. 
No associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1970, human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals 
were removed from the Grissom Site (45-KT-301) in Kittitas County, WA, 
by a Central Washington University archaeology field school. The five 
associated funerary objects are one lot of matting, one lot of historic 
beads, one lot of metal buttons, one lot of seeds, and one lot flakes.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from Crab Creek near the town of Beverly, in Grant County, WA and 
subsequently donated to Central Washington University by unknown 
individuals. 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: archeological, biological, geographical, and historical.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, Central Washington University has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 65 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The five lots of 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 Confederated Tribes and Bands 
of the Yakama Nation and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville 
Reservation.

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 and, if joined to a request 
from one or more of the Indian Tribes, the Wanapum Band of Priest 
Rapids, a non-federally recognized Indian group.
    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 March 11, 2024. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, Central Washington 
University must

[[Page 8720]]

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. Central Washington University is responsible for sending a 
copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes identified in this notice.
    This notice was submitted on or after the effective date of the 
revised regulations (88 FR 86452, December 13, 2023, effective January 
12, 2024). As the notice conforms to the mandatory format of the 
Federal Register and includes the required information, the National 
Park Service is publishing this notice as submitted.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.

    Dated: February 1, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-02550 Filed 2-7-24; 8:45 am]
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