[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16023-16024]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04670]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037542; 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 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 Klickitat County, WA.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after April 5, 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.

[[Page 16024]]

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from Yakima County, WA. The Yakima County Coroner's Office found the 
human remains in 2000 or 2001 and subsequently donated them to Central 
Washington University. The Coroner's Office has no information about 
their origins. The King County Medical Examiner's Forensic 
Anthropologist determined the human remains to be non-forensic. 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: biological, geographical, 
historical, and expert opinion.

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 one 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.

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 April 5, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation 
are received, Central Washington University 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. Central Washington University is responsible 
for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribe 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 27, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-04670 Filed 3-5-24; 8:45 am]
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