2010-19001. Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Colorado Museum, Boulder, CO

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 in the control of the University of Colorado Museum, Boulder, CO. The human remains were removed from Washington County, CO.

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. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the University of Colorado Museum professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Arapahoe Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma; Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Crow Tribe of Montana; Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico; Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota; Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota; Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota; Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation, Utah; and Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah.

In 1953, human remains representing a minimum of three individuals were removed from the Claypool site, Washington County, CO, by the University of Colorado Museum. Local residents had been collecting artifacts in that area for years. In January 2004, the human remains were discovered in the museum during an inventory. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are present.

The human remains are Native American based on the biological assessment and the site context. The Claypool site appears to have been a Cody Complex campsite. Diagnostic artifacts found there include Eden points, a Scottsbluff point, and a Cody knife. Other material culture consists of scrapers, numerous stone flakes, charred and uncharred bone, and pieces of grooved sandstone. The stratigraphy indicates the artifacts are postglacial and date from 10,000 to 7,000 years ago.

Officials of the University of Colorado Museum have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described above represent the physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry. Lastly, officials of the University of Colorado Museum have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), a relationship of shared group identity cannot reasonably be traced between the Native American human remains and any present-day Indian tribe.

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee (Review Committee) is responsible for recommending specific actions for disposition of culturally unidentifiable human remains. In October 2009, the University of Colorado Museum requested that the Review Committee recommend disposition of the culturally unidentifiable human remains to the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah, based on aboriginal land claims supported by oral tradition, as well as the support of the other Indian tribes consulted. The Comanche Nation, Oklahoma, and Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma signed the disposition agreement in support of the disposition to the Ute Mountain Tribe. Furthermore, none of the Indian tribes consulted objected to the determination of “culturally unidentifiable” status by the University of Colorado Museum and the disposition to the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah.

The Review Committee considered the proposal at its October 30-31, 2009, meeting and recommended disposition of the human remains to the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah. The Secretary of the Interior agreed with the Review Committee's recommendation. An April 19, 2010, letter from the Designated Federal Officer, writing on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior, transmitted the authorization for the University of Colorado Museum to effect disposition of the physical remains of the culturally unidentifiable individuals to the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah, contingent on the publication of a Notice of Inventory Completion in the Federal Register. This notice fulfills that requirement.

Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Steve Lekson, Curator of Anthropology, University of Colorado Museum, in care of Jan Bernstein, NAGPRA Consultant, Bernstein & Associates, 1041 Lafayette Street, Denver, CO 80218, telephone [phone], before September 2, 2010. Disposition of the human remains to the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah, may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.

The University of Colorado Museum is responsible for notifying the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Arapahoe Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma; Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Crow Tribe of Montana; Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico; Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota; Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota; Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota; Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation, Utah; and Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah, that this notice has been published.

Dated: July 26, 2010

Sherry Hutt,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.