[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 10, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 73438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20297]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038657; 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 has determined that there 
is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes 
or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains were 
removed from 35-TI-09 in Tillamook County, OR.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after October 10, 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, one individual were removed 
from 35-TI-09, Rube Wilkens Farm, north bank of the Kilchis River, 
Tillamook Bay, OR. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In August of 1953, Dr. Herbert Taylor conducted an archaeological 
survey in Tillamook County, Oregon, where he located this site on Rube 
Wilkens Farm. The site was excavated by Western Washington State 
College field school students as well as local inhabitants. The Revised 
1999 WWU NAGPRA Inventory has been updated to include the Smithsonian 
trinomial for this location, as well as revised cultural affiliation. 
The human remains description has not been revised. No known 
individuals were identified. No hazardous chemicals are known to have 
been used to treat the human remains or associated funerary objects 
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 described in this notice.

Determinations

    The WWU has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of at least one individual of Native American 
ancestry.
     There is a connection between the human remains described 
in this notice and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon.

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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with 
cultural affiliation.
    Repatriation of the human remains described in this notice to a 
requestor may occur on or after October 10, 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 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: August 29, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-20297 Filed 9-9-24; 8:45 am]
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