03-20755. Notice of Inventory Completion: Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

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 in the possession of the Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from an unidentified site in the Salt River area of central Arizona.

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 within this notice are the sole responsibility of the museum that has control of these Native American human remains and associated funerary objects. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations within this notice.

A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the Museum of Northern Arizona professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Ak-Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; Colorado River Indian Tribes of the Colorado River Indian Reservation, Arizona and California; Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Arizona; Fort Mojave Indian Tribe of Arizona, California & Nevada; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona; Yavapai-Apache Nation of the Camp Verde Indian Reservation, Arizona; Yavapai-Prescott Tribe of the Yavapai Reservation, Arizona; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.

At an unknown date, cremated human remains representing a minimum of one individual were removed from an unidentified site in the Salt River area of central Arizona. The human remains and associated funerary objects were given to Mrs. Roslein Birdsell by a relative in 1955 or 1956. No known individual was identified. The three associated funerary objects are a Casa Grande red-on-buff jar and two quartz crystals. A chalcedony projectile point that was originally associated with the human remains subsequently disappeared. In 2000, Mrs. Birdsell transferred control of the human remains and the three associated funerary objects to the Museum of Northern Arizona.

Casa Grande red-on-buff pottery vessels generally date to A.D. 700-900. Archeological evidence indicates that the Salt River area of central Arizona was occupied during the period A.D. 700-900 by the Hohokam people, for whom cremation was a common mortuary practice. Archeological, historical, and oral tradition evidence indicate that there is a relationship of shared group identity between the Hohokam people and the present-day Piman and O'odham cultures, represented by the Ak-Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; and Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona. Hopi and Zuni oral traditions also indicate that segments of the prehistoric Hohokam population migrated to areas occupied by the ancestors of the Hopi and Zuni and were assimilated into the resident populations.

Officials of the Museum of Northern Arizona have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains described above represent the physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry. Officials of the Museum of Northern Arizona also have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(A), the three objects described above are reasonably believed to have been placed with the individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony. Lastly, officials of the Museum of Northern Arizona have determined that, 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 Ak-Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.

Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary objects should contact Elaine Hughes, Museum of Northern Arizona, 3101 North Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, telephone [phone], extension 228, before September 15, 2003. Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the Ak-Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.

The Museum of Northern Arizona is responsible for notifying the Ak-Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; Colorado River Indian Tribes of the Colorado River Indian Reservation, Arizona and California; Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Arizona; Fort Mojave Indian Tribe of Arizona, California & Nevada; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona; Yavapai-Apache Nation of the Camp Verde Indian Reservation, Arizona; Yavapai-Prescott Tribe of the Yavapai Reservation, Arizona; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico that this notice has been published.

Dated: July 9, 2003.

John Robbins,

Assistant Director, Cultural Resources.