[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 164 (Friday, August 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68201-68202]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18953]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038573; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intended Repatriation: 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) intends to 
repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of 
unassociated funerary objects and that have a cultural affiliation with 
the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items 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 
summary or related records. The National Park Service is not 
responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    A total of 69 unassociated funerary objects have been requested for 
repatriation. The 69 unassociated funerary objects are lance and arrow 
blades and shafts, game pieces, different types of projectile points, 
other hunting tools and accessories, wood shavings, dolls, stone tools, 
a carving, an effigy, bowls, dishes, cups, and scoop pieces, and 
wrapping material.
    Based on the information available, Native American unassociated 
funerary objects have been identified at the University of Pennsylvania 
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum). These objects 
were collected by William Van Valin when he was hired by the Penn 
Museum to lead the John Wanamaker Expedition to Alaska, in 1917-1919. 
The 69 unassociated funerary objects derive from the

[[Page 68202]]

Kugusugaruk site (49-BAR-00003) located 6.6 miles southwest of present-
day Utqiagvik, Alaska; available records are unable to link these items 
to specific human remains from northern Alaska at the Penn Museum, the 
Smithsonian Institute (SI), National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), 
or any other museum.

Determinations

    The BLM Alaska has determined that:
     The 69 unassociated funerary objects described above are 
reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near 
individual human remains, and are connected, either at the time of 
death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony and are believed, 
by a preponderance of the evidence, to have been removed from a 
specific burial site of an individual or individuals with cultural 
affiliation to an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.
     There is a reasonable connection between the human remains 
and funerary objects described in this notice and the Native Village of 
Barrow Inupiat Traditional Government.

Requests for Repatriation

    Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items 
in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified 
in this notice under ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be 
submitted by 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 cultural items 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 cultural items 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 and to any other consulting 
parties.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.

    Dated: August 15, 2024.
Mariah Soriano,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-18953 Filed 8-22-24; 8:45 am]
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