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 Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program. 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 Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program.

Description

At an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of two individuals were removed from a stone-lined grave at an unknown location in Crittenden County, AR. These human remains cannot be dated or attributed to a particular archeological context. At some point, the human remains came into the possession of a private collector in Fort Madison, IA. After the collector's death in 1994, the human remains were transferred to the Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program. The cranial and dental remains (Burial Project 785) belong to one young-to-middle adult female and one juvenile of unknown age. Dental and facial morphology and dental wear indicate Native ancestry. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are present.

Aboriginal Land

The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice were removed from known geographic locations. These locations are the aboriginal lands of one or more Indian Tribes. The following information was used to identify the aboriginal land: treaties.

Determinations

Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, the Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
• No relationship of shared group identity can be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary objects and any Indian Tribe.
• The human remains described in this notice were removed from the aboriginal land of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma; Kaw Nation, Oklahoma; Quapaw Nation; and The Osage Nation.

Requests for Disposition

Written requests for disposition of the human remains in this notice must be sent to the Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES . Requests for disposition 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, or who shows that the requestor is an aboriginal land Indian Tribe.

Disposition of the human remains described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after June 5, 2023. If competing requests for disposition are received, the Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to disposition. Requests for joint disposition of the human remains are considered a single request and not competing requests. The Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes 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 and 10.11.

88 FR 29157