[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 164 (Friday, August 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68199-68200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18952]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038568; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office, 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, Alaska State Office (BLM Alaska) has completed an 
inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural

[[Page 68200]]

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 September 23, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Robin O. Mills, Bureau of Land Management, 222 W 7th Avenue 
#13, Anchorage, AK 99513, telephone (907) 474-2359, 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 
BLM Alaska, 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 four individuals have been reasonably identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present. The human remains include 15 skeletal 
elements representing minimally four individuals, secured during the 
1958-1961 archaeological excavations at Cape Krusenstern, Alaska, by 
Louis Giddings. Previous repatriations from this site and others nearby 
occurred in 2000 to the Tribe identified in this notice. The new 
identified remains were discovered by specifically searching for human 
remains in excavation bags containing animal faunal elements, in 
August-November 2023. The new remains were found from three 
archaeological proveniences: (1) 10 ribs (MNI one individual; adult) 
from House 8, (2) two vertebrae & one metacarpal (MNI one individual; 
adult) from a seal fauna feature near House 30, and (3) one metatarsal 
and one clavicle (MNI two individuals; one teenager, one child) from 
House 41.

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 BLM Alaska has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of four individuals of Native American ancestry.
     There is a reasonable connection between the human remains 
in this notice and the Native Village of Kotzebue.

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 September 23, 2024. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the 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. The BLM Alaska 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: August 15, 2024.
Mariah Soriano,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-18952 Filed 8-22-24; 8:45 am]
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