[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 37 (Friday, February 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13742-13743]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03649]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037437; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Arkansas Archeological Survey, 
Fayetteville, AR

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 Arkansas Archeological Survey 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 unknown locations in the eastern Arkansas Mississippi 
River valley.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after March 25, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Sarah Shepard, Arkansas Archeological Survey, 2475 N. Hatch 
Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72704, telephone (479) 575-6552, 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 
Arkansas Archeological Survey. 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 Arkansas Archeological Survey.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the FBI 
professional staff in consultation with representatives of tribal 
partners between 2018 and 2023, and finally on November 8, 2023, in 
Shawnee, Oklahoma. Conversations between the ARAS, Osage Nation, and 
Quapaw Nation continued after that point. On December 4th, 2023, a 
decision was made for the Quapaw to move forward in affiliation with 
the human remains.

History and Description of the Remains

    The Arkansas Archeological Survey (ARAS) received a transfer from 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on

[[Page 13743]]

October 5, 2023, of human remains recovered from a seizure in Indiana. 
At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, six 
individuals were removed from unknown areas in the Eastern Arkansas 
Mississippi River Valley region. Following their removal, the human 
remains were transported to Indiana, where they remained as part of a 
private collection of Native American antiquities and cultural 
heritage. In April 2014, the human remains were seized by the FBI as 
part of a criminal investigation. The human remains represent six 
individuals. No associated funerary objects are present.
    Based upon the historical record, site analysis, evidence obtained 
through criminal investigation, osteological analysis, and tribal 
consultation, the ARAS believes that there is a relationship of shared 
group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native 
American human remains and the Quapaw Nation.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, ARAS has determined 
that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of six individuals of Native American ancestry.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the Native American human remains and the 
Quapaw Nation.

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.
    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 in this notice to a requestor may 
occur on or after March 25, 2024. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, ARAS 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. ARAS is responsible for notifying the Quapaw Nation that this 
notice has been published.
    This notice was submitted before 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 14, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-03649 Filed 2-22-24; 8:45 am]
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