Notice of Inventory Completion Amendment: Louisiana State University, Museum of Natural Science, Baton Rouge, LA, 66887 [2023-21246]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• National Park Service

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 187 (Thursday, September 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 66887]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21246]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036648; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion Amendment: Louisiana State 
University, Museum of Natural Science, Baton Rouge, LA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; amendment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Louisiana State University, Museum of 
Natural Science (LSUMNS) has amended a Notice of Inventory Completion 
published in the Federal Register on December 13, 2000. This notice 
amends the minimum number of individuals and the number of associated 
funerary objects in a collection removed from the Phillip Nicks Place 
site in Avoyelles Parish, LA (16AV4).

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after October 30, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Rebecca Saunders, Curator, LSUMNS Division of 
Anthropology, 119 Foster Hall, LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, telephone 
(225) 588-0909, email [email protected].

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 
LSUMNS. The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations in this notice. Additional information on the amendments 
and determinations in this notice, including the results of 
consultation, can be found in the inventory or related records held by 
LSUMNS.

Amendment

    This notice amends determinations concerning human remains and 
associated funerary objects from site 16AV4, the Phillip Nicks site, 
listed in a Notice of Inventory Completion that was published in the 
Federal Register on December 13, 2000 (65 FR 77907-77908). Repatriation 
of the items in the original Notice of Inventory Completion has not 
occurred. During a re-inventory of collections from site 16AV4, the 
minimum number of individuals was determined to be five, rather than 
six as previously reported. In addition, 64 historical objects that 
previously were thought to have come from the general site area were 
determined to come from the disturbed mound summit and, consequently, 
they are associated funerary objects. The 427 associated funerary 
objects (previously identified as 363 associated funerary objects) 
include bracelets, rings, glass beads, textile fragments, shell 
fragments, gun flints, lead shot, iron nails, and iron nail fragments.

Determinations (as Amended)

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, LSUMNS has determined that:
     The human remains described in this amended notice 
represent the physical remains of five individuals of Native American 
ancestry.
     The 427 objects described in this amended notice 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.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary 
objects described in this notice and the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians; 
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; and The Choctaw Nation of 
Oklahoma.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the 
Responsible Official identified in 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 a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization.
    Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after October 30, 2023. 
If competing requests for repatriation are received, LSUMNS 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. LSUMNS 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, 10.10, 
10.13, and 10.14.

    Dated: September 20, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-21246 Filed 9-27-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P