2023-19963. Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, NM

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Cameron County, TX.

DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice may occur on or after October 16, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

George MacDonell, U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwest Region, 500 Gold Avenue SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102, telephone [phone], email [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA. The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the USFWS. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice. Additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related records held by the USFWS.

Description

Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed from the Unland Site (41CF111) at Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge, in Cameron County, TX. On or around August 10, 1976, human remains belonging to three individuals were uncovered during construction. Sometime prior to November 16, 1990, the remains of these individuals were transferred to an unrecorded Indian Tribe and were reburied. However, fragmentary human remains that had been transferred to the Texas Historical Commission still remained in their custody. On March 12, 2001, a long bone fragment belonging to one of the reburied individuals and several associated funerary objects were found at the Texas Historical Commission. The five associated funerary objects are three lots consisting of organic burial matrixes; one turtle shell; and one lot consisting of clay balls.

Cultural Affiliation

The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice are connected to one or more identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures. There is a relationship of shared group identity between the identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures and one or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. The following types of information were used to reasonably trace the relationship: oral traditional.

Determinations

Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, the USFWS has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of Native American ancestry.
• The five 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.
• There is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico.

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES . Requests for repatriation may be submitted by:

1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes identified in this notice.

2. Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice who shows, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a lineal descendant or a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization.

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after October 16, 2023. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the USFWS must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing requests. The USFWS is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribe identified in this notice.

Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9, 10.10, and 10.14.

Dated: September 8, 2023.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.