[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 200 (Thursday, October 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62199-62200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24514]
[[Page 62199]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-16764; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin
National Grassland, Laramie, WY
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service,
Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grassland
(MBRTB) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated
funerary objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or
Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is no
cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary
objects and any present-day Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian
organizations. Representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization not identified in this notice that wish to request
transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary
objects should submit a written request to the USDA Forest Service
MBRTB. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of
the human remains and associated funerary objects to the Indian tribes
or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.
DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization not identified in this notice that wish to request
transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary
objects should submit a written request with information in support of
the request to the USDA Forest Service MBRTB at the address in this
notice by November 17, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Thomas Whitford, District Ranger, MBRTB, 2468 Jackson
Street, Laramie, WY 82070-6535, telephone (307) 745-2300.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25
U.S.C. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains and
associated funerary objects under the control of the USDA Forest
Service MBRTB, Laramie, WY. The human remains and associated funerary
objects were removed from a burial site southwest of Upton, Weston
County, WY.
This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3) and
43 CFR 10.11(d). The determinations in this notice are the sole
responsibility of the museum, institution, or Federal agency that has
control of the Native American human remains and associated funerary
objects. The National Park Service is not responsible for the
determinations in this notice.
Consultation
A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the USDA
Forest Service MBRTB professional staff in consultation with
representatives of the Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation,
Wyoming; Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian
Reservation, Montana; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma (previously
listed as the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma); Cheyenne River
Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Chippewa-
Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana; Comanche Nation,
Oklahoma; Crow Tribe of Montana; Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the
Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; and the Pawnee Nation of
Oklahoma.
History and Description of the Remains
In 1981, human remains representing, at minimum, four individuals
were removed from the Frog Creek oil field lands in Weston County, WY.
This site is on Federal land, within the boundaries of the Medicine
Bow-Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grassland. Oil
company workers discovered some human remains under rocks near their
worksite approximately 64 kilometers southwest of Upton, Wyoming. The
burial had previously been disturbed and the rocks originally used to
cover the individuals had been moved. The Weston and Converse County
Sheriff's departments were notified at the time of discovery and the
human remains were sent to Dr. George Gill at the University of Wyoming
for biological analysis. On October 12, 1982, Dr. Gill, George
Darlington, David McKee, and David Darlington (USDA Forest Service)
conducted follow-up excavations at the discovery site and collected
additional human remains. The human remains were found in sand deposits
on top of a butte overlooking the valley below. They appeared not to
have been buried but simply covered with large flat stones.
The human remains were analyzed for Native American heritage, age,
and sex by the professional staff of the University of Wyoming. The
remains consist of four American Indian individuals. They are
fragmented, and many bone elements were not present. The most complete
individual is an adult female who was 50-65 years of age. The second
set of remains is an adult male represented by only a few bone
fragments. A third set of remains is of a child 6-7 years of age. An
infant child is represented by a fourth set of fragmentary remains. No
known individuals were identified. The two associated funerary objects
are two small and partial damaged tubular non-human (canid) bone beads
Determinations Made by the USDA Forest Service Medicine Bow-Routt
National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland
Officials of the USDA Forest Service MBRTB have determined that:
Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described
in this notice are Native American based on archaeological evidence.
Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described
in this notice represent the physical remains of four individuals of
Native American ancestry.
Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the two objects
described in this notice 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.
Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), a relationship of shared
group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the Native American
human remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day
Indian tribe.
According to final judgments of the Indian Claims
Commission or the Court of Federal Claims, the land from which the
Native American human remains and associated funerary objects were
removed is the aboriginal land of the Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River
Reservation, Wyoming; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma (previously
listed as the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma); Chippewa-Cree
Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana; Crow Tribe of Montana;
and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian
Reservation, Montana.
Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the
human remains and associated funerary objects may be to the Arapaho
Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Cheyenne and Arapaho
Tribes, Oklahoma (previously listed as the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of
Oklahoma); Chippewa-Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation,
Montana; Crow Tribe of Montana; and
[[Page 62200]]
the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian
Reservation, Montana.
Additional Requestors and Disposition
Representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization
not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control
of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a
written request with information in support of the request to Thomas
Whitford, District Ranger, USDA Forest Service MBRTB, 2468 Jackson
Street, Laramie, WY, telephone (307) 745-2443, by November 17, 2014.
After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward,
transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary
objects to the Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming;
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma (previously listed as the
Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma); Chippewa-Cree Indians of the
Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana; Crow Tribe of Montana; and the
Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation,
Montana, may proceed.
The USDA Forest Service MBRTB is responsible for notifying the of
the Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Assiniboine
and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana; Cheyenne
and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma (previously listed as the Cheyenne-Arapaho
Tribes of Oklahoma); Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River
Reservation, South Dakota; Chippewa-Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's
Reservation, Montana; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Crow Tribe of Montana;
Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation,
Montana; and the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma that this notice has been
published.
Dated: September 22, 2014.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2014-24514 Filed 10-15-14; 8:45 am]
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