[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 138 (Thursday, July 18, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 58408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15838]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038293; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Western Washington University, 
Department of Anthropology, Bellingham, 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), Western Washington University (WWU) 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. The human remains and 
associated funerary objects were removed from 45-WH-34 in Whatcom 
County, WA.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after August 19, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Judith Pine, Western Washington University, Department 
of Anthropology, Arntzen Hall 340, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 
98225, telephone (360) 650-4783, 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 
WWU, 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 minimum, four individuals and 59 
associated funerary objects were removed from along the Nooksack River 
in Ferndale, Whatcom County, WA. Students from WWU worked at site 45-
WH-34 under the direction of WWU professor Dr. Garland Grabert in 
spring and summer of 1972. As part of the field school, students 
excavated multiple one-meter by one-meter units. The 59 associated 
funerary objects consist of bone and tooth pendants, bone, stone and 
antler tools and fired clay. No known individuals were identified. No 
hazardous chemicals are known to have been used to treat the human 
remains while in the custody of WWU.
    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: anthropological information, 
archaeological information, geographical information, historical 
information, and oral tradition.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available 
about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in 
this notice.

Determinations

    The WWU has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of four individuals of Native American ancestry.
     A total of 59 associated funerary objects are reasonably 
believed to have been placed 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 described 
in this notice and the Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation and the 
Nooksack Indian Tribe.

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 August 
19, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the WWU 
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 WWU 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: July 10, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-15838 Filed 7-17-24; 8:45 am]
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