[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 176 (Monday, September 13, 1999)] [Notices] [Pages 49504-49505] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 99-23770] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains and Associated Funerary Objects from Custer County, SD in the Possession of the South Dakota State Archaeological Research Center, Rapid City, SD AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Notice is hereby given in accordance with provisions of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 43 CFR 10.9, of the completion of an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects from Custer County, SD in the possession of the South Dakota State Archaeological Research Center, Rapid City, SD. A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by South Dakota State Archaeological Research Center (SARC) professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation and the Pawnee Indian Tribe of Oklahoma. Between 1935 and 1950, human remains representing three individuals were recovered from the Phelps site (39CU206) located on the left bank of Battle Creek, Custer County, SD by Mrs. Phelps, the private landowner of the site. No known individuals were identified. The seven associated funerary objects include one unidentifiable mammal rib, two cedar fragments, one limestone bead, charcoal, one stone biface, and one stone uniface. Based on the associated funerary objects and the manner of interment, these individuals have been identified as Native American. The associated funerary objects, manner of interment, and the remainder of the artifact assemblage from the site, including side-notched projectile points, freshwater shells, large bifaces, and ceramics, indicate the burials date to the Upper Republican Aspect of the Central Plains Tradition (1000-1500 A.D.). Based on continuities of material culture, architecture, skeletal morphology, oral tradition, and historical evidence, the cultural affiliation of the Phelps site and the individuals listed above can be affiliated with the Arikara. In 1870, the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara tribes were moved to the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota and are now known as the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation. [[Page 49505]] Based on the above mentioned information, officials of the South Dakota State Archaeological Research Center have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(1), the human remains listed above represent the physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of the South Dakota State Archaeological Research Center have also determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(2), the seven objects listed 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. Lastly, officials of the South Dakota State Archaeological Research Center have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (e), there is a relationship of shared group identity which can be reasonably traced between these Native American human remains and associated funerary objects and the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation. This notice has been sent to officials of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation and the Pawnee Indian Tribe of Oklahoma. Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with these human remains and associated funerary objects should contact Renee Boen, Curator, State Archaeological Center, South Dakota Historical Society, P.O. Box 1257, Rapid City, SD 57709-1257; telephone: (605) 394-1936, before October 13, 1999. Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation may begin after that date if no additional claimants come forward. Dated: August 23, 1999. Francis P. McManamon, Departmental Consulting Archeologist, Manager, Archeology and Ethnography Program. [FR Doc. 99-23770 Filed 9-10-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-70-F