83 FR 62890 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 234 (December 6, 2018)

The Wisconsin Historical Society has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. 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 and associated funerary objects should submit a written request to the Wisconsin Historical Society. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 234 (Thursday, December 6, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62890-62891]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26438]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0026951; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Wisconsin Historical Society, 
Madison, WI

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Wisconsin Historical Society has completed an inventory of 
human remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with the 
appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has 
determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day Indian 
Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. 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 and 
associated funerary objects should submit a written request to the 
Wisconsin Historical Society. If no additional requestors come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects to the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in 
this notice may proceed.

DATES: 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 and associated funerary 
objects should submit a written request with information in support of 
the request to the Wisconsin Historical Society at the address in this 
notice by January 4, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Jennifer Kolb, Wisconsin Historical Society, 816 State St, 
Madison, WI 53706, telephone (608) 264-6434, email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby 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 under the control of the Wisconsin 
Historical Society, Madison, WI. The human remains and associated 
funerary objects were removed from the Bluff Siding site, Buffalo 
County, WI and the Britt-Decora site, Trempealeau County, WI.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3) and 
43 CFR 10.11(d). 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 and associated funerary 
objects. The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the 
Wisconsin Historical Society professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Forest County Potawatomi Community, Wisconsin; 
Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior 
Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation of Wisconsin; 
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin; and the Upper Sioux Community, 
Minnesota, hereafter referred to as ``The Consulted Tribes.''

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1979, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from the Bluff Siding site (47-BF-0045) in Buffalo County, 
WI, during an extensive excavation conducted by the Wisconsin 
Historical Society (WHS) for a Department of Transportation project 
expanding State Highway 35. The archeologists recovered fragmentary 
human remains representing an adult individual of indeterminate sex. 
The human remains were found in two distinct locations, both of which 
were located in the eastern half of the site. A burial context was 
recognized at one of these locations that had been disturbed by rodent 
and root activity. Three clam shells found with these human remains 
were classified by the excavating archeologists as associated funerary 
objects, but are not in WHS collections. The human remains found in the 
second location were scattered among numerous clam shells and faunal 
remains, but were not identified until formal analysis of materials in 
the laboratory occurred. No known individuals were identified. The one 
associated funerary object is a soil sample containing clamshell 
fragments.
    In 1927, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were

[[Page 62891]]

removed from the Britt-Decora site (47-TR-0002) in Trempealeau County, 
WI. Archeologist Leland Cooper, who was associated with Hamline 
University in Minnesota at the time, excavated the site in 1927, and 
recovered the partially cremated remains of a single adult from one of 
the site's 25 conical mounds. The human remains were transferred from 
Hamline University to the Wisconsin Historical Society in 1978. Neither 
field notes nor reports from Cooper's investigations were among the 
transferred materials. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.

Determinations Made by the Wisconsin Historical Society

    Officials of the Wisconsin Historical Society have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice are Native American based on Wisconsin Historical 
Society records, burial location, archeological context, oral 
histories, and skeletal analysis.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the one object described 
in this notice is 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.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), a relationship of shared 
group identity cannot be reasonably traced between the Native American 
human remains associated funerary objects and any present-day Indian 
Tribe.
     Treaties, Acts of Congress, or Executive Orders, indicate 
that the land from which the Native American human remains were removed 
is the aboriginal land of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort 
Peck Indian Reservation, Montana; Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the 
Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota; Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of the 
Crow Creek Reservation, South Dakota; Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of 
South Dakota; Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation, 
South Dakota; Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; 
Oglala Sioux Tribe (previously listed as the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the 
Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota); Prairie Island Indian Community 
in the State of Minnesota; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian 
Reservation, South Dakota; Santee Sioux Nation, Nebraska; Shakopee 
Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota; Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of 
the Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota; Spirit Lake Tribe, North 
Dakota; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota; Upper Sioux 
Community, Minnesota; and the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, 
hereafter referred to as ``The Aboriginal Land Tribes.''
     Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1), the disposition of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects may be to The Aboriginal 
Land Tribes.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    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 and associated funerary objects should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to Jennifer 
Kolb, Wisconsin Historical Society, 816 State St, Madison, WI 53706, 
telephone (608) 264-6434, email [email protected], by 
January 4, 2019. After that date, if no additional requestors have come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects to The Aboriginal Land Tribes may proceed.
    The Wisconsin Historical Society is responsible for notifying The 
Aboriginal Land Tribes and The Consulted Tribes that this notice has 
been published.

    Dated: November 7, 2018.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2018-26438 Filed 12-4-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P