2022-25574. Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Anchorage, AK

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM Alaska) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from the Aleutians West Census Area, AK.

DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice may occur on or after December 23, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

Robert E. King, Bureau of Land Management, 222 W 7th Avenue, #13, Anchorage, AK 99513, telephone [phone], email [e-mail].

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 BLM Alaska. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice. Additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related records held by BLM Alaska.

Description

Human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals were removed from two locations on Unalaska Island in the Aleutians West Census Area, AK. The human remains were determined to be more than 200 years old.

Sometime prior to 1961, human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were removed by an unknown person from the Chernofski site. In 1961, Ron Boyce deposited these human remains at the University of Alaska Museum of the North (University Museum). No known individuals were identified. The 27 associated funerary objects are one bone shaft, 11 pieces of worked bone, two pieces of decorated ivory, one piece of worked wood, one bone drill bearing, seven bone points, one ivory point, one bone handle, and two wooden spoons.

Sometime prior to 1963, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed by an unknown person from the Summer Bay area. In 1963, Ron Kent deposited these human remains at the University Museum. No known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.

Cultural Affiliation

The human remains and associated funerary objects 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: archeological and oral traditional.

Determinations

Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, BLM Alaska has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The 27 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.
• There is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska.

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the Responsible Official identified in 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 a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after December 23, 2022. If competing requests for repatriation are received, BLM Alaska must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing requests. BLM Alaska is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribe identified in this notice.

Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9, 10.10, and 10.14.

Dated: November 16, 2022.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.