2022-12113. Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh 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 a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and present-day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants or 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 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES:

Lineal descendants or 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 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh at the address in this notice by July 7, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Adrienne Frie, University of Wisconsin—Oshkosh, 800 Algoma Blvd., Oshkosh, WI 54901, telephone [phone], email [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice is here 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 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from the Reigh Site (47-WN-0001) in Winnebago 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). 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 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh professional staff in consultation with representatives 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; Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; Forest County Potawatomi Community, Wisconsin; Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma; Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Michigan; Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana; Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan; Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Fond du Lac Band; Mille Lacs Band; White Earth Band); Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, Michigan ( previously listed as Huron Potawatomi, Inc.); Oneida Nation ( previously listed as Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin); Onondaga Nation; Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma; Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana; Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation ( previously listed as Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation, Kansas); Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota; Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan; Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan; Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota; Sokaogon Chippewa Community, Wisconsin; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota; Stockbridge Munsee Community, Wisconsin; Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska; and one non-federally recognized Indian group, Brothertown Indian Nation.

An invitation to consult was extended to the Cayuga Nation; Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana ( previously listed as Chippewa-Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana); Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma; Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of the Crow Creek Reservation, South Dakota; Hannahville Indian Community, Michigan; Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigan; Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas; Kickapoo Tribe of Indians of the Kickapoo Reservation in Kansas; 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; Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Michigan; Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan; Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation, South Dakota; Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Bois Forte Band (Nett Lake); Grand Portage Band; Leech Lake Band); Oglala Sioux Tribe ( previously listed as Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota); Oneida Indian Nation ( previously listed as Oneida Nation of New York); Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma; Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Prairie Island Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, Minnesota; Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa; Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe ( previously listed as St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York); Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraska; Seneca Nation of Indians ( previously listed as Seneca Nation of New York); Seneca-Cayuga Nation ( previously listed as Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma); Spirit Lake Tribe, North Dakota; St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; The Osage Nation ( previously listed as Osage Tribe); Tonawanda Band of Seneca ( previously listed as Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians of New York); Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota; Tuscarora Nation; Upper Sioux Community, Minnesota; Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota; and two non-federally recognized Indian groups, the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians; and the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians.

Hereafter, all Indian Tribes and groups listed in this section are referred to as “The Consulted and Notified Tribes and Groups.”

History and Description of the Remains

On an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed from the Reigh Site (47-WN-0001) in Winnebago County, WI. The first reports of disturbed burials at this location date back to the 1890s. In 1953, the land on which the site was located was quarried as a source of sand and gravel, which resulted in the discovery of burials by the B.F. Miller Excavating Company. Over time, the Oshkosh Public Museum, the Wisconsin Historical Society, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Wisconsin Archaeological Survey sent fieldworkers to the site; excavations continued for several years.

In the early 1990s, the human remains (47WN0001_UNKNOW.0001.HR.0001a through 47WN0001_UNKNO.0001.HR.0003a) were encountered in a storage container labeled with the site name and Smithsonian codification number. The human remains belong to an individual of undetermined sex, whose age is estimated to be between 8.6 years and 12.4 years. The burials at this site date to the Middle Archaic Stage (calibrated ca. 5000-1700 B.C.) and the Old Copper Industry (calibrated ca. 5000-1000 B.C.). Previously, the identification of a Middle Archaic tradition was premised on the side-notched bifaces found in some of the burials, specifically the Reigh side-notched knives and projectile points. More recently, a radiocarbon date from this site provided a calibrated one sigma range of 2350-1740 B.C. No known individual was identified. The one associated funerary object is a lot of fragmentary animal bones (47WN0001_UNKNOW.0001.FA.0001).

Determinations Made by the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

Officials of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh have determined that:

• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual 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), there is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native American human remains and associated funerary objects and the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin; Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma; and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska (hereafter referred to as “The Tribes”).

Additional Requestors and Disposition

Lineal descendants or 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 Adrienne Frie, University of Wisconsin—Oshkosh, 800 Algoma Blvd., Oshkosh, WI 54901 telephone [phone], email [e-mail], by July 7, 2022. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to The Tribes may proceed.

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is responsible for notifying The Consulted and Notified Tribes and Groups that this notice has been published.

Dated: May 25, 2022.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.