[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 3, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72710-72711]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-28913]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-14191; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: 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: The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
(BLM), Alaska State Office, in consultation with the appropriate Indian
tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, has determined that the items
listed in this notice meet the definition of unassociated funerary
objects. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to
claim these items should submit a written request to the BLM Alaska
State Office. If no additional claimants come forward, transfer of
control of the items to the lineal descendants, Indian tribes, or
Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.
DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to
claim these items should submit a written request with information in
support of the claim to the BLM Alaska State Office at the address in
this notice by January 2, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Robert E. King, Alaska State NAGPRA Coordinator, Bureau of
Land Management, 222 W. 7th Avenue, Box
[[Page 72711]]
13, Anchorage, AK 99513-7599, telephone (907) 271-5510.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25
U.S.C. 3005, of the intent to repatriate items under the control of the
BLM Alaska State Office and in the physical custody of the American
Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, that meet the definition of
unassociated funerary objects under 25 U.S.C. 3001.
This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native
American items. The National Park Service is not responsible for the
determinations in this notice.
History and Description of the Items
Between 1931 and 1932, 86 partial sets of polar bear skulls were
removed from the vicinity of the ``Kukulik'' Eskimo burial mound (also
spelled ``Kookoolik''), about four miles east of the village of
Savoonga, on St. Lawrence Island, AK. Surviving records report that at
least one skull was recovered from a depth of ``3 feet and nine inches,
but on clay bottom, associated with objects of the Old Bering Sea
culture.'' The excavation was done by, or under authority of, Dr. Otto
Geist, who was affiliated with the Alaska Agricultural College and
School of Mines (today called the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK).
No human remains or other items are known to have been removed during
this excavation. At an unknown date after 1932, these polar bear skulls
were sent to the American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
(AMNH).
In 1957, one partial polar bear skull was removed from the vicinity
of the same ``Kukulik'' Eskimo burial mound (also spelled
``Kookoolik''), about four miles east of the village of Savoonga on St.
Lawrence Island, AK. The excavation was done by, or under authority of,
Dr. Otto Geist, whose affiliation was then reported as the University
of Alaska at Fairbanks, AK. No human remains or other items are known
to have been removed during this excavation. At an unknown date after
1957, this polar bear skull was sent to the AMNH.
Between 1931 and 1947, 204 partial sets of animal bones were likely
removed from the vicinity of human burials on St. Lawrence Island, AK,
by Dr. Otto Geist or under his authority. At the time, Dr. Geist was
associated with the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines
(today called the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, AK). Dr. Geist was
also associated during some or all of this time with the University of
Alaska Museum of the North at Fairbanks, AK. The 204 partial sets of
animal remains include 200 partial polar bear skulls, two dog skulls,
and two post cranial dog skeletons lacking skulls. Between 1931 and
1947, these animal bones were sent to the AMNH.
Dr. Geist's records at the AMNH state that some of the polar bear
skulls came from surface contexts and others from subsurface contexts.
As no records identify the specific provenience for each specimen, the
exact numbers of surface-collected and subsurface-collected specimens
are unknown. Of the 291 sets of animal bones listed in this notice,
those found on the surface are approximately one or two centuries old.
If they were any older, natural erosion from freeze-thaw action and
consumption by animals would have destroyed them. The specimens found
in buried contexts, including at least one partial polar bear skull was
found at a depth of three feet and nine inches below the surface, may
reasonably be connected to the Old Bering Sea culture of the region,
and date from about 200 B.C. to 500 A.D.
Ethnohistorical and genetic data indicate a continuity of cultural
occupation of St. Lawrence Island from at approximately 300 A.D. to the
present. Historical accounts and oral tradition presented by
representatives of the Native Village of Gambell and the Native Village
of Savoonga support this evidence for occupation, as well as the custom
of placing polar bear skulls and dog remains at or near human graves.
Based on the provenience, type, and condition of the animal remains,
they are directly associated with Native American inhabitants of St.
Lawrence Island. Descendants of these inhabitants are members of the
Native Village of Gambell and the Native Village of Savoonga, who have
made a joint request for these animal bones.
Determinations Made by the BLM Alaska State Office
Officials of the BLM Alaska State Office have determined that:
Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the 291 items described
above 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; the human remains are not in the possession or
control of the BLM Alaska State Office; and the items can be identified
by a preponderance of the evidence to have been removed from the
specific burial sites of Native American individuals culturally
affiliated with a particular Indian tribe.
Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the items
and the Native Village of Gambell and the Native Village of Savoonga.
Additional Requestors and Disposition
Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim
these items should submit a written request with information in support
of the claim to Robert E. King, Alaska State NAGPRA Coordinator, Bureau
of Land Management, 222 W. 7th Avenue, Box 13, Anchorage, AK 99513-
7599, telephone (907) 271-5510, by January 2, 2014. After that date, if
no additional claimants have come forward, transfer of control of the
unassociated funerary objects to the Native Village of Gambell and the
Native Village of Savoonga may proceed.
The BLM Alaska State Office is responsible for notifying the Native
Village of Gambell and the Native Village of Savoonga that this notice
has been published.
Dated: September 26, 2013.
David Tarler,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2013-28913 Filed 12-2-13; 8:45 am]
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