[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 93 (Monday, May 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 41461]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10329]



[[Page 41461]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037914; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Metropolitan State University of 
Denver, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Denver, CO

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 Metropolitan State University of Denver 
(MSU Denver), Department of Sociology and Anthropology 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.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after June 12, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Michala Stock, MSU Denver Department of Sociology and 
Anthropology, Campus Box 28, Cherry Creek Building, Room 239, Denver, 
CO 80217-3362, telephone (303) 605-7433, 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 
MSU Denver Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and additional 
information on the determinations in this notice, including the results 
of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related records. The 
National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this 
notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    Based on the information available, human remains representing, at 
least, eight individuals have been reasonably identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Prior to 1987, human remains representing, at minimum, eight 
individuals were accessioned as inadvertent finds during archaeological 
excavations in the State of Colorado. The human remains consist of 
cranial and postcranial skeletal remains. University records indicate 
that this institution has conducted archaeological excavations 
throughout the state; however, archival records lack more specific 
geographical provenience for these individuals.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical 
location or acquisition history of the human remains described in this 
notice.

Determinations

    The MSU Denver Department of Sociology and Anthropology has 
determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of eight individuals of Native American ancestry.
     There is a reasonable connection between the human remains 
described in this notice and the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Cheyenne and 
Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Eastern Shoshone 
Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Fort Belknap Indian 
Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana; Jicarilla Apache 
Nation, New Mexico; Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah; 
Northern Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Northern 
Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; 
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation; Southern Ute 
Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; The Osage 
Nation; and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains in this 
notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this 
notice under 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 June 12, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation 
are received, the MSU Denver Department of Sociology and Anthropology 
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. The MSU Denver Department of 
Sociology and Anthropology is responsible for sending a copy of this 
notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations 
identified in this notice.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.

    Dated: May 3, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-10329 Filed 5-10-24; 8:45 am]
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