2018-26438. Notice of Inventory Completion: Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Wisconsin Historical Society 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 Wisconsin Historical Society. 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 Wisconsin Historical Society at the address in this notice by January 4, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

Jennifer Kolb, Wisconsin Historical Society, 816 State St, Madison, WI 53706, telephone [phone], email [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice is hereby 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 Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from the Bluff Siding site, Buffalo County, WI and the Britt-Decora site, Trempealeau County, WI.

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 Wisconsin Historical Society professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Forest County Potawatomi Community, Wisconsin; Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation of Wisconsin; Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin; and the Upper Sioux Community, Minnesota, hereafter referred to as “The Consulted Tribes.”

History and Description of the Remains

In 1979, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed from the Bluff Siding site (47-BF-0045) in Buffalo County, WI, during an extensive excavation conducted by the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) for a Department of Transportation project expanding State Highway 35. The archeologists recovered fragmentary human remains representing an adult individual of indeterminate sex. The human remains were found in two distinct locations, both of which were located in the eastern half of the site. A burial context was recognized at one of these locations that had been disturbed by rodent and root activity. Three clam shells found with these human remains were classified by the excavating archeologists as associated funerary objects, but are not in WHS collections. The human remains found in the second location were scattered among numerous clam shells and faunal remains, but were not identified until formal analysis of materials in the laboratory occurred. No known individuals were identified. The one associated funerary object is a soil sample containing clamshell fragments.

In 1927, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed from the Britt-Decora site (47-TR-0002) in Trempealeau County, WI. Archeologist Leland Cooper, who was associated with Hamline University in Minnesota at the time, excavated the site in 1927, and recovered the partially cremated remains of a single adult from one of the site's 25 conical mounds. The human remains were transferred from Hamline University to the Wisconsin Historical Society in 1978. Neither field notes nor reports from Cooper's investigations were among the transferred materials. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are present.

Determinations Made by the Wisconsin Historical Society

Officials of the Wisconsin Historical Society have determined that:

• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described in this notice are Native American based on Wisconsin Historical Society records, burial location, archeological context, oral histories, and skeletal analysis.
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the one object described in this notice is 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 associated funerary objects and any present-day Indian Tribe.
• Treaties, Acts of Congress, or Executive Orders, indicate that the land from which the Native American human remains were removed is the aboriginal land of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana; Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of the Crow Creek Reservation, South Dakota; Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation, South Dakota; Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; Oglala Sioux Tribe (previously listed as the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota); Prairie Island Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota; Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraska; Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota; Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota; Spirit Lake Tribe, North Dakota; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota; Upper Sioux Community, Minnesota; and the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, hereafter referred to as “The Aboriginal Land Tribes.”
• Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects may be to The Aboriginal Land Tribes.

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 Jennifer Kolb, Wisconsin Historical Society, 816 State St, Madison, WI 53706, telephone [phone], email [e-mail], by January 4, 2019. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to The Aboriginal Land Tribes may proceed.

The Wisconsin Historical Society is responsible for notifying The Aboriginal Land Tribes and The Consulted Tribes that this notice has been published.

Dated: November 7, 2018.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.