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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District, 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, eight individuals have been identified. The 371 associated funerary objects are: 116 faunal remains, 109 chipped stone, 102 ceramic sherds, 15 shells, two groundstone, 17 charcoal, one stone, seven lots of lithics and ceramics, one lot of wood or burned bone, and one lot of soil and rocks.

The proposed Meramec Park Lake Project was in the Meramec River Basin in Crawford and Washington Counties, Missouri, approximately 65 miles southwest of St. Louis. The project was originally authorized in 1966; cultural resources surveys and excavations followed and resulted in the current collections from Crawford and Washington Counties, Missouri. After public debate, the project was formally deauthorized in 1981 (Pub. L. 97-128) and the lake was never constructed.

The human remains and funerary objects originate from seven archaeological sites from this land (23CR80, Smith Shelter; 23CR14, Huzzah Country Club Cave; 23CR22, Lincoln Cave; 23CR54, Meramec Spring Village Site; 23CR58, Boulder Cave 1; 23CR115, Reeves Cave; and 23WA61, Merkel Cave). The materials are currently located at the Illinois State Museum in Springfield, Illinois. The St. Louis District has no knowledge of any hazardous materials being used to treat the Ancestors or cultural items.

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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District, has determined that:

• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of eight individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The 371 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 Osage Nation.

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative 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 September 2, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District, 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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District, is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice and any other consulting parties.

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

91 FR 48935