[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 40 (Wednesday, February 28, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 14712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04094]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037480; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Bureau of Land Management, Anchorage, AK

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, Bureau 
of Land Management (BLM Alaska) 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 near Wainwright in the 
North Slope Borough, Alaska.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after March 29, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Miriam (Nicole) Hayes, Bureau of Land Management, 222 W 7th 
Avenue #13, Anchorage, AK 99513, telephone (907) 271-4354, 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 BLM 
Alaska. 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 BLM Alaska.

Description

    In 1980, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from the Siraagruk archeological site (WAI-095), about 17 
miles northeast of Wainwright, AK. The human remains, which are 
estimated to be over 120 years old, were excavated by an archeological 
crew working under authority of the BLM. The human remains were shipped 
to the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where they remained until 
moved to Anchorage, AK. In 2023, they were transferred to the 
University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks, AK, where they 
are currently held. The identity of the individual is unknown. No 
associated funerary objects are present.

Cultural Affiliation

    The human remains 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 information 
and oral tradition.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, BLM Alaska has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of one individual 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 Village of Wainwright.

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 29, 2024. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, BLM Alaska 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. BLM Alaska is responsible for sending a copy of 
this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations 
identified in this notice.
    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 20, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-04094 Filed 2-27-24; 8:45 am]
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