Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, Omaha, NE, 44462-44463 [2017-20304]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• National Park Service

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 183 (Friday, September 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44462-44463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20304]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0023938;PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, Omaha District, Omaha, NE

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District (Omaha 
District), in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native 
Hawaiian organizations, has determined that the cultural items listed 
in this notice meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects. 
Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim 
these cultural items should submit a written request to the Omaha 
District. If no additional claimants come forward, transfer of control 
of the cultural items to the lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, or 
Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or 
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
claim these cultural items should submit a written request with 
information in support of the claim to the Omaha District, at the 
address in this notice by October 23, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Ms. Sandra Barnum, U.S. Army Engineer District, Omaha, ATTN: 
CENWO-PM-AB, 1616 Capital Avenue, Omaha, NE 68102, telephone (402) 995-
2674, email sandra.v.barnum@usace.army.mil.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given in accordance with 
the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 
U.S.C. 3005, of the intent to repatriate cultural items under the 
control of the Omaha District, that meet the definition of unassociated 
funerary objects under 25 U.S.C. 3001.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The 
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native 
American cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

History and Description of the Cultural Items

    Cultural items consisting of 55,802 unassociated funerary objects 
that were collected from site 39BF231 in Buffalo County, SD. They are 
presently located at the South Dakota State Archaeological Research 
Center (SARC) and are under the control of the Omaha District.
    Site 39BF231 is a multi-component mound site on a gravel terrace 
situated above the confluence of the Missouri River and Campbell Creek. 
The site was recorded in 1956 by H.A. Huscher during the Smithsonian 
Institute River Basin Survey Project, and was excavated in 1961 by 
Robert W. Neuman for the Smithsonian Institution, before the 
construction of a new Highway 47. During the excavation, three dome-
shaped mounds and 14 test pits were excavated and at least 13 sets of 
human remains were recovered. The human remains were stored at the 
River Basin Surveys Midwest Archeological Center (MWAC) until 1964, 
when they were moved to the University of Kansas. In 1971, the 
University of Tennessee-Knoxville received the human remains from the 
University of Kansas, where they remained until 1979, when they were 
transferred to the Smithsonian Institution, where they are currently 
held.
    SARC currently houses the 55,802 funerary objects that were 
collected with one of the above individuals held at the Smithsonian. 
The excavation records clearly show these items as having been removed 
from the burial of a specific individual. These 55,802 unassociated 
funerary objects are 1 copper band, 2 brass beads, 55,462 glass beads, 
41 shell beads, 1 glass bottle, 1 iron box, 6 copper alloy brooches, 1 
iron buckle, 110 brass buttons, 6 glass buttons, 2 catlinite spheres, 6 
brass chain fragments, 1 log fragment, 13 wood fragments, 1 bone paint 
brush, 3 elk teeth, 1 glass fragment, 14 iron fragments, 1 iron pail, 1 
iron rod, 2 knife blade fragments, 1 lead ball, 2 lead pellets, 1 
unidentified lead object, 1 projectile point, 1 lot of brooches, 1 lot 
of wool, 1 lot of hair, textile and beads, 4 oxidized metal fragments, 
40 iron nails, 6 ornamental disc fragments, 1 pocket knife, 4 brass/
glass rings, 16 brass rings, 3 copper alloy rings, 1 iron scissors, 2 
iron scraper blades, 3 iron screws, 1 spoon, 10 brass tacks, 1 cotton 
fragment, 6 leather fragments, 1 leather shoe fragment, 1 ribbon 
fragment, 1 wool fragment, 3 wool/linen fragments, 1 brass thimble, 10 
iron tinklers, 1 wooden bowl fragment, and 2 iron wristlets.
    Site 39BF231 is a multi-component mound site that was probably 
occupied between 1863 and 1885, i.e., during the Early Reservation 
Period (post-A.D. 1863). This site is associated with the Crow Creek 
Indian Reservation, which, by the 1870's was inhabited by the 
Yanktonai. Site 39BF231 has four dome-shaped earthen mounds, three of 
which were excavated. These mounds are part of a larger concentration 
of 90 mounds that occur in the Big Bend area on the Missouri River. 
Pink beads found at the site indicate a post-1850 occupation. Further, 
crooked shoes evidence continued occupation during the 1860s, while 
wire nails suggest that occupation continued at least through 1884. 
Researchers believe the individuals who were buried at the site are 
from a later occupation, as the individuals were placed in rows in the 
mounds. This practice suggests a transition to non-Native burial 
practices, which occurred in the area in the1880s. The unassociated 
funerary objects and manner of burial indicates that the mounds are 
affiliated with the Yanktonai. The Yanktonai today are represented by 
the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. Consultation with the Yankton 
Sioux Tribe of South Dakota indicate that these kinds of objects were 
placed with individuals at the time of death.

Determinations Made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

    Officials of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District have 
determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the 55,802 cultural 
items described above are 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 and are believed, by a preponderance of 
the evidence, to have been removed from a specific burial site of a 
Native American individual.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the 
unassociated funerary objects and the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South 
Dakota.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim 
these cultural items should submit a written request with information 
in support of the claim to Ms. Sandra Barnum, U.S. Army Engineer 
District, Omaha, ATTN: CENWO-PM-AB, 1616 Capital Avenue, Omaha, NE 
68102, telephone, (402)

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995-2674, email sandra.v.barnum@usace.army.mil, by October 23, 2017. 
After that date, if no additional claimants have come forward, transfer 
of control of the unassociated funerary objects to the Yankton Sioux 
Tribe of South Dakota may proceed.
    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District is responsible for 
notifying the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota that this notice has 
been published.

    Dated: August 29, 2017.
Sarah Glass,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2017-20304 Filed 9-21-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P