81 FR 8219 - Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee; Findings and Recommendations Regarding Human Remains and Associated Funerary Objects for The Osage Nation

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 32 (February 18, 2016)

The National Park Service is publishing this notice as part of its administrative responsibilities pursuant to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA or the Act). The recommendations, findings, and actions in this notice are advisory only and are not binding on any person. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee (Review Committee) found that certain human remains and associated items are culturally affiliated with The Osage Nation and that the State of Missouri Department of Natural Resources, State Historic Preservation Office should determine the most appropriate claimant--The Osage Nation or the Indian tribes comprising the Sac and Fox NAGPRA Confederacy--using the criteria under section 7(a)(4) of the Act.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 32 (Thursday, February 18, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8219-8220]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-03407]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-20115; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review 
Committee; Findings and Recommendations Regarding Human Remains and 
Associated Funerary Objects for The Osage Nation

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Findings and recommendations.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service is publishing this notice as part of 
its administrative responsibilities pursuant to the Native American 
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA or the Act). The 
recommendations, findings, and actions in this notice are advisory only 
and are not binding on any person. The Native American Graves 
Protection and Repatriation Review Committee (Review Committee) found 
that certain human remains and associated items are culturally 
affiliated with The Osage Nation and that the State of Missouri 
Department of Natural Resources, State Historic Preservation Office 
should determine the most appropriate claimant--The Osage Nation or the 
Indian tribes comprising the Sac and Fox NAGPRA Confederacy--using the 
criteria under section 7(a)(4) of the Act.

ADDRESSES: The Review Committee meeting transcript containing the 
proceedings and Review Committee deliberation and findings are 
available online at www.nps.gov/nagpra/Review or from the National 
NAGPRA Program upon request ([email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The recommendations, findings, and actions 
of the Review Committee are advisory only and not binding on any 
person. These advisory findings and recommendations do not necessarily 
represent the views of the National Park Service or Secretary of the 
Interior. The National Park Service and the Secretary of the Interior 
have not taken a position on these matters.
    The Review Committee was established by Section 8 of the Act, and 
is an advisory body governed by the Federal Advisory Committee Act. At 
its November 18, 2015, public meeting in Norman, OK, the Review 
Committee heard a request from The Osage Nation as an affected party. 
The issues before the Review Committee were (1) whether the human 
remains and associated items from the Clarksville Mound Group (site 
23PI6) are culturally affiliated with The Osage Nation; and (2) whether 
the

[[Page 8220]]

appropriate disposition of the human remains and associated items from 
the Clarksville Mound Group (site 23PI6) is to The Osage Nation or the 
Indian tribes comprising the Sac and Fox NAGPRA Confederacy.
    Between 1962 and 1996, human remains representing, at minimum, 29 
individuals were removed from the Clarksville Mound Group (site 23PI6) 
in Pike County, MO. The Clarksville Mound Group was originally recorded 
in 1952, and described as a group of six mounds. In 1962, the site was 
bulldozed in order to develop a sky-ride and tourist attraction, and 
five of the six mounds were destroyed. In 1995 and 1996, the City of 
Clarksville, the owner of the site, contacted the Missouri Department 
of Natural Resources, State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) for 
assistance after terminating the lease to the tourist attraction. Human 
remains were eroding out of the damaged mound, and due to the severity 
of the erosion problem, the SHPO and the City of Clarksville decided to 
undertake excavations to remove the threatened burials. The excavations 
were expanded as more burials were discovered. During the excavations, 
human remains representing, at minimum, 22 individuals were removed 
from the site. The two associated funerary objects are one lot of 
ancalusa shell beads and one Scallorn point. In 2002, additional human 
remains representing, at minimum, four individuals were transferred to 
the SHPO by a local collector who had been on the site in 1962. In 
2006, additional human remains from the site representing, at minimum, 
three individuals were transferred to the SHPO by the University of 
Missouri-Columbia.
    On February 21, 2013, the Sac & Fox Nation of Oklahoma, the Sac & 
Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, and the Sac & Fox Nation of the 
Missouri in Kansas, through the Sac and Fox NAGPRA Confederacy, 
submitted a request for repatriation of all the human remains and 
associated funerary objects from the Clarksville Mound Group (site 
23PI6), citing a relationship of shared group identity (cultural 
affiliation). On July 30, 2013, the SHPO published a Notice of 
Inventory Completion in the Federal Register (78 FR 45960-45961) for 
the human remains and associated funerary objects from the Clarksville 
Mound Group (site 23PI6) in which it determined that a shared group 
identity could be reasonably traced between the human remains and the 
Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox of Missouri in Kansas and 
Nebraska; and the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa. On August 
29, 2013, The Osage Nation timely submitted a written request for 
transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects removed from the Clarksville Mound Group (site 23PI6). 
Supporting materials submitted by The Osage Nation asserted that (1) 
the individuals interred at the Clarksville Mound site dated to the 
Late Woodland and Emergent Mississippian Period (A.D. 900-1000); (2) 
this period corresponds to the prehistoric occupation of Missouri by 
the ancestral Osage; and (3) in accordance with 43 CFR 10.2(e)(1) and 
10.14(c), multiple lines of evidence support a cultural affiliation 
between the prehistoric inhabitants of the Clarksville Mound site and 
the current people of The Osage Nation. As of July 15, 2015, the SHPO 
had not made a decision regarding The Osage Nation's request.
    In August 2015, The Osage Nation requested that the Review 
Committee make a finding of fact regarding the human remains and 
associated funerary objects removed from Clarksville Mound Group (site 
23PI6) in Pike County, MO. The Designated Federal Officer for the 
Review Committee agreed to the request.
    At its November 18, 2015 meeting, the Review Committee considered 
the request. The issues before the Review Committee were (1) whether 
the human remains and associated items from the Clarksville Mound Group 
(site 23PI6) are culturally affiliated with The Osage Nation; and (2) 
whether the appropriate disposition of human remains and associated 
items from the Clarksville Mound Group (site 23PI6) is to The Osage 
Nation or the Indian tribes comprising the Sac and Fox NAGPRA 
Confederacy.
    Findings of Fact: All six Review Committee members currently 
appointed by the Secretary of the Interior participated in the fact 
finding. By a vote of five to zero (the chair did not vote), the Review 
Committee found that with regard to issue (1), the human remains and 
associated items from the Clarksville Mound Group (Site 23PI6) are 
culturally affiliated with The Osage Nation. Regarding issue (2), by a 
vote of five to zero (the chair did not vote), the Review Committee 
``strongly recommends that the [State of Missouri Department of Natural 
Resources, State Historic Preservation Officer], pursuant to the NAGPRA 
regulations, determine the most appropriate claimant in this case 
within the next six months, in consultation with The Osage Nation and 
the Sac and Fox NAGPRA Confederacy. If the [State of Missouri 
Department of Natural Resources, State Historic Preservation Officer], 
cannot make such a determination within six months, the Review 
Committee requests that the [State of Missouri Department of Natural 
Resources, State Historic Preservation Officer,] notify the Review 
Committee of the barrier to doing so.''

    Dated: January 13, 2016.
Armand Minthorn,
Chair, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review 
Committee.
[FR Doc. 2016-03407 Filed 2-17-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-50-P