[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 10 (Friday, January 14, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2427-2428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-905]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains
and Associated Funerary Objects from Valley, Lancaster, and Nance
Counties, NE in the Possession of the Nebraska State Historical
Society, Lincoln, NE
AGENCY: National Park Service
ACTION: Notice
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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 Valley, Lancaster, and Nance Counties, NE in the
possession of the Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln, NE.
A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Nebraska
State Historical Society professional staff in consultation with
representatives of the Pawnee Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; the Three
Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; and
the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco and
Tawakonie), Oklahoma.
In 1993, human remains representing a minimum of two individuals
were recovered from private lands in Howard County, NE during
construction associated with a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Canal
project. In 1995, these human remains were transferred to the Nebraska
State Historical Society. No known individuals were identified. No
associated funerary objects were present.
Based on material culture, and site features, as well as proximity
to other known Pawnee village and burial areas, these human remains
have been identified as Native American, specifically of Pawnee
affiliation.
In 1997, human remains representing two individuals were recovered
from site 25VY42, Valley County, NE during a legally authorized
archeological investigation conducted by the Nebraska State Historical
Society Staff as a result of highway construction. No known individuals
were identified. The two associated funerary objects include a stone
pipe and a stone knife.
Based on associated funerary objects, these individuals have been
identified as Native American. Based on location and associated
funerary objects, site 25VY42 has been identified as a habitation
associated with the Central Plains tradition (A.D. 1000-1400).
In 1998, human remains representing one individual were received by
the Nebraska Historical Society from the Lancaster County Sheriff's
Office. These human remains had been confiscated during a criminal
investigation. No known individual was identified. No associated
funerary objects are present.
Based on cranial morphology and the condition of the crania, this
individual has been identified as Native American, dating to c. 1000-
1400 A.D. Based on craniometrics, this individual has been affiliated
with the Central Plains tradition.
Based on continuities of ceramic decoration, stone tool form and
function, architecture, chronology, mortuary custom, subsistence
pattern, settlement pattern, and geographic location, the Central
Plains Tradition is recognized by many anthropologists as ancestral to
the present-day Pawnee, Arikara, and Wichita. Pawnee and Arikara oral
traditions also indicate cultural affiliation between the earlier
Central Plains Tradition and these present-day tribes. The Wichita and
Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco and Tawakonie), Oklahoma. and
Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota,
(representing the Arikara) have agreed to allow the Pawnee to claim the
human remains listed above.
In 1998, human remains representing a minimum of five individuals
from the Wright site (25NC3), near Genoa, Nance County, NE were
anonymously delivered to the Nebraska State Historical Society. No
known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects were
present.
Based on the note written on the box these human remains were in,
these have been determined to be from the Wright site. The Wright Site
is a well documented Pawnee village dating to the late 1600s or early
1700s. Based on the presumed location of these remains and skeletal
morphology, these individuals have been identified as Native American
of Pawnee affiliation.
During the 1930s, human remains representing a minimum of one
individual were recovered from the Burkett site (25NC1), Nance County,
NE and placed in the collections of the Nebraska Historical Society. In
1998, these remains were found in a mislabeled container in the
collections of the Nebraska State Historical Society. No known
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
Based on location, historical documents, and material culture, the
Burkett site has been identified as a historic Pawnee village dating to
the late 1600s or early 1700s.
Based on the above mentioned information, officials of the Nebraska
State Historical Society have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2
(d)(1), the human remains listed above represent the physical remains
of a minimum of eleven individuals of Native American ancestry.
Officials of the Nebraska State Historical Society have also determined
that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(2), the two 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 Nebraska State Historical Society
have also 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 Pawnee Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; the Three Affiliated
Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; and the Wichita
and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco and Tawakonie), Oklahoma.
This notice has been sent to officials of the Pawnee Indian Tribe
of Oklahoma; the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold
Reservation, North Dakota; and the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes
(Wichita, Keechi, Waco and Tawakonie), Oklahoma. Representatives of any
other Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated
with these human remains should contact Rob Bozell, Associate Director,
Nebraska State Historical Society, 1500 R Street, P.O. Box 82554,
Lincoln, NE 68501-2554; telephone: (402) 471-4789, before
[[Page 2428]]
February 14, 2000. Repatriation of the human remains and associated
funerary objects to the Pawnee Indian Tribe of Oklahoma may begin after
that date if no additional claimants come forward.
Dated: December 15, 1999.
Francis P. McManamon,
Departmental Consulting Archeologist,
Manager, Archeology and Ethnography Program.
[FR Doc. 00-905 Filed 1-13-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F
