[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 126 (Monday, July 1, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54502-54503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14473]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038196; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Aurora History Museum and 
Historic Sites, Aurora, 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 Aurora History Museum and Historic Sites 
has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary 
objects and 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.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after July 31, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Elizabeth Ricci, Aurora History Museum and Historic Sites, 
15051 East Alameda Parkway, Aurora, CO 80012, telephone (303) 739-6660, 
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 
Aurora History Museum and Historic Sites, and additional information on 
the determinations in this notice, including the results of 
consultation, can be found in its inventory or related records. The 
National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this 
notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    Human remains representing, at least, two individuals have been 
identified. The eight associated funerary objects are five charcoals, 
two shells, and one lithic.
    In April of 1982, two neighborhood children discovered human bone 
eroding from the bank of West Toll Gate Creek in Arapahoe County: 
Aurora, Colorado. The children reported their find, and the site was 
excavated soon after. Site 5AH 244 is located on the first terrace 
above and on the cut bank of West Toll Gate Creek. The objective of the 
excavation was to recover human remains, reinter, and document as much 
information on the burial as possible. A Medicine Man, Charlie Kills 
Enemy of the Sioux Tribe, was in the area at the time and brought in to 
ensure proper

[[Page 54503]]

care of the remains. Charlie Kills Enemy conducted a ceremony to ask 
the ancestors if they have permission to perform carbon dating test, 
they agreed. The ancestors were then asked where they would like to be 
reinterred. They requested to be buried on a hill. The human remains, 
an amazonite pendent, and an atlatl weight were reinterred in June of 
1985 at Golden Gate Canyon State Park on five acers of land designated 
for the Tribes just northwest of Golden, Colorado prior to NAGPRA law. 
A ceremony took place with Elders from the Shoshone and Cheyenne 
Tribes. A Medicine Man was present from the Arapaho Tribe. The Elders 
and Medicine Man were not named. Reinternment was on a hill as 
requested. The exact reinternment site is unknown to the museum. We are 
working with Golden Gate Canyon State Park to find the location.
    We recently discovered a collection of objects and items related to 
the burial site 5AH 244. Within the collection are soil samples that 
were taken from the burial pits, a chest cavity, and surrounding earth. 
The soil samples contain pieces of bone not consistent with the animal 
bones that have been found within the collection. These bones are seen 
as remnants of the two individuals previously found. Items that appear 
to be associated funerary objects are five charcoals, two shells, and 
one lithic. There are animal bones, lithics, flakes, soils, and a 
petrified wood knife that are not associated with the burial. It was 
requested by the Arapaho and Cheyenne council that the entire 
collection including non-associated items be reinterred in the exact 
spot of the original reinternment or as close as possible.

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 and associated 
funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

    The Aurora History Museum and Historic Sites has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The eight objects described in this notice are reasonably 
believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual 
human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite 
or ceremony.
     There is a connection between the human remains and 
associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Cheyenne 
and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects 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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with 
cultural affiliation.
    Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after July 31, 
2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Aurora 
History Museum and Historic Sites must 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. The Aurora History Museum and 
Historic Sites 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: June 24, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-14473 Filed 6-28-24; 8:45 am]
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