2018-26443. 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 Wakanda Park Mound Group, Dunn 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 1957, human remains representing, at minimum, 24 individuals were removed from the Wakanda Park Mound Group (47-DN-0001) in Dunn County, WI. The site was investigated in 1957 by Warren Wittry of the Wisconsin Historical Society, and shortly thereafter, it was inundated by the construction of a dam. Wittry and his team conducted excavations in seven of the mounds, and recovered human remains representing one adult male, eleven adults of indeterminate sex, seven subadults, and five individuals of indeterminate age and sex. Burial practices included both sub-floor pits and cremation. The human remains were recovered from eleven of the fifteen mounds investigated (Mounds 1, 3, 6-8, 10-14, 16). No known individuals were identified. The seven associated funerary objects include one clay mask in fragments, one partial ceramic vessel, one quartzite flake, one copper bead necklace, one quartzite biface, and two groups of charred wood fragments.

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 24 individuals of Native American ancestry.
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the seven 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 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 and associated funerary objects were removed is the aboriginal land of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana; Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation, Wisconsin; Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan; Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana (previously listed as the Chippewa-Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana); Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of the Crow Creek Reservation, South Dakota; Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigan; Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation of Wisconsin; Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation, South Dakota; Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Six component reservations: Bois Forte Band (Nett Lake); Fond du Lac Band; Grand Portage Band; Leech Lake Band; Mille Lacs Band; White Earth Band); 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; Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, Minnesota; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota; Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan; Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraska; Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Michigan; Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota; Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota; Sokaogon Chippewa Community, Wisconsin; Spirit Lake Tribe, North Dakota; St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota; Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North 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.