80 FR 32599 - Notice of Inventory Completion: History Colorado, Formerly Colorado Historical Society, Denver, CO

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 110 (June 9, 2015)

History Colorado, formerly Colorado Historical Society, has completed an inventory of human remains 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 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 should submit a written request to History Colorado. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains to the lineal descendants, Indian tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 110 (Tuesday, June 9, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32599-32600]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14110]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-18305]; [PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP15.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: History Colorado, Formerly 
Colorado Historical Society, Denver, CO

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: History Colorado, formerly Colorado Historical Society, has 
completed an inventory of human remains 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 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 should submit a 
written request to History Colorado. If no additional requestors come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains 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 should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to History 
Colorado at the address in this notice by July 9, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Sheila Goff, NAGPRA Liaison, History Colorado, 1200 
Broadway, Denver, CO 80203, telephone (303) 866-4531, email 
[email protected].

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 under 
the control of History Colorado, Denver, CO. The human remains were 
removed from site 5WL48, in Weld 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.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by History 
Colorado professional staff in consultation with representatives of the 
Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Cheyenne and 
Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma (formerly the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of 
Oklahoma); Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Fort Sill Apache Tribe of 
Oklahoma; Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma; Northern Cheyenne Tribe of 
the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; Oglala Sioux Tribe 
(previously listed as the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge 
Reservation, South Dakota); Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Southern Ute 
Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; Three 
Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; Ute 
Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation, Utah; Ute Mountain 
Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah; and 
Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco & Tawakonie), 
Oklahoma. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, 
South Dakota and the Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, 
Wyoming, were invited to consult but did not participate.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1974, human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals 
were removed from site 5WL58 in Weld County, CO. Staff and students 
from the University of Northern Colorado inadvertently removed the 
human remains while excavating the site as part of a field school. The 
human remains were highly fragmentary and in 1974, thought to be faunal 
remains. The remains were identified as human in 2012, by History 
Colorado staff, who were processing the faunal assemblage. The human 
remains were transferred to the Culture and Community Department of the 
museum for NAGPRA compliance. Osteological analysis indicates the 
partial human remains represent three subadults of Native American 
ancestry. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    Radiocarbon dates from the site where the human remains were 
removed ranges from 250 B.C. to A.D. 950. These dates, along with 
attributes of the site including site location on the northeastern 
plains of Colorado, projectile points, cord-marked pottery, and site 
architecture, indicate a Plains Woodland occupation. Available evidence 
indicates there is a traditional association between the Ute people and 
the geographical area from where the human remains were recovered. 
Ancestral Ute people may have interacted with Plains Woodland people on 
the northeastern plains of Colorado. However the preponderance of 
evidence including geographical, biological, archeological, oral 
tradition, and expert opinion is associated with Plains Woodlands 
occupations whose descendants are currently recognized as the Pawnee 
Nation of Oklahoma; Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold 
Reservation, North Dakota; and Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, 
Keechi, Waco & Tawakonie), Oklahoma.

Determinations Made by History Colorado

    Officials of History Colorado have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of three individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     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 the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Three 
Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota; and 
Wichita and Affiliated

[[Page 32600]]

Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco & Tawakonie), Oklahoma.

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 should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to Sheila 
Goff, NAGPRA Liaison, History Colorado, 1200 Broadway, Denver, CO 
80203, telephone (303) 866-4531, email [email protected], by July 
9, 2015. After that date, if no additional requestors have come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains to the Pawnee Nation 
of Oklahoma; Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, 
North Dakota; and Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco 
& Tawakonie), Oklahoma, may proceed.
    History Colorado is responsible for notifying the Arapaho Tribe of 
the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, 
Oklahoma (formerly the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma); Comanche 
Nation, Oklahoma; Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma; Kiowa Indian 
Tribe of Oklahoma; Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne 
Indian Reservation, Montana; Oglala Sioux Tribe (previously listed as 
the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota); 
Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian 
Reservation, South Dakota; Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River 
Reservation, Wyoming; Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute 
Reservation, Colorado; Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold 
Reservation, North Dakota; Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray 
Reservation, Utah; Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, 
Colorado, New Mexico & Utah; and Wichita and Affiliated Tribes 
(Wichita, Keechi, Waco & Tawakonie), Oklahoma, that this notice has 
been published.

    Dated: May 11, 2015.
Mariah Soriano,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2015-14110 Filed 6-8-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-50-P