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 USACE and Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, and additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in its inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

Human remains representing, at least, 66 individuals have been identified. The 44,112 associated funerary objects are 18 ash samples, two axes, 3,644 pieces of baked clay, one bone bead, one bone hair pin, one bone pendant, 735 ceramic sherds, 175 charcoal samples, one crinoid bead, 328 lots of faunal remains, one glass shard, 100 groundstones, 92 fragments of hematite, 37,994 flaked lithics, one mud dobber nest, 188 fragments of nutshell, 238 lithic points, one polished stone, three quartz crystals, 10 seed samples, four shaped ceramics, 241 lots of shell, 57 soil samples, 140 turtle shell fragments, 26 worked bone, and one worked shell in addition to eight lots of groundstone, 33 lots of ceramics, 46 lots of lithics, four lots of unworked faunal, 13 lots of worked faunal, two lots of quartz crystal, two lots of beads, and one lot of ash. The human remains and funerary objects described above were removed from the Wann site 34LF27, a black midden/burial mound representative of the Fourche Maline Phase of the Woodland archaeological period located in LeFlore County, Oklahoma. The site was first excavated in 1940 by the WPA and supervised by Phil Newkumet with the University of Oklahoma. After USACE acquired the property, collections were made on the southern half of the site to supplement the WPA investigations during 1974-1975 and 1977-1978 archaeological surveys and data recoveries at Wister Lake. Collections made after USACE acquired the property in the 1960s are under the control of USACE, collections made prior to USACE acquiring the property are under control of Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. In order to make all ancestors and associated funerary objects recovered from this site available for repatriation concurrently, this notice is being submitted cooperatively by the USACE and Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.

Cultural Affiliation

Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

The USACE and Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History have determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of 66 individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The 44,112 objects described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony.
• There is a connection between the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma and the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco, & Tawakonie), Oklahoma.

Requests for Repatriation

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

1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations 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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with cultural affiliation.

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after June 18, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the USACE and Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History 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 USACE and Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History are responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.

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

91 FR 29157