Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office, Anchorage, AK, 73440 [2024-20290]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• National Park Service

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 10, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 73440]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20290]



[[Page 73440]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038655; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office, Anchorage, AK

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State 
Office (BLM Alaska) has completed an inventory of human remains and 
associated funerary objects, presently located at the University of 
Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum), in 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation 
between the human remains and cultural items, and present-day Indian 
Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations indicated in this notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after October 10, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Robin O. Mills, Bureau of Land Management, 222 W 7th Avenue 
#13, Anchorage, AK 99513, telephone (907) 474-2359, 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 the 
BLM Alaska, and additional information on the determinations in this 
notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the 
inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not 
responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    Based on the information available, Native American human remains 
representing at least 43 individuals, along with 45 associated funerary 
objects, have been identified at the Penn Museum. These remains and 
items were collected in 1918 by William Van Valin when he was hired by 
the Penn Museum to lead the John Wanamaker Expedition to Alaska (1917-
1919). In April 1928, the human remains were transferred to The Wistar 
Institute, Philadelphia, whereas the cultural items were retained at 
the Penn Museum. In 1956, the human remains were transferred back to 
the Penn Museum, where they presently reside. Records at the Penn 
Museum indicate that the 43 individuals found are represented as 
follows: 20 are represented by craniums and mandibles only, 12 by 
craniums only, four by mandibles only, five by post-cranial elements 
only, and one by a mandible and post-cranial elements. Four are 
children (ca.4-15 years), three are adolescents (ca.15 to 17 years), 35 
are adults (ca.20 to ca.60 years), and one is of unknown age. The 
children, adolescents, and unknown aged individual are of unknown or 
uncertain sex. Of the adults, 18 are male and 17 are female. No known 
individuals are identified among the 43 sets of human remains. Two of 
the remains are from Nunavak, 11 from the general Point Barrow region, 
11 from or probably from Kugusugaruk, 17 from Barrow or present-day 
Utqiagvik, and two from either Nunavak or Kugusugaruk. The remains from 
Nunavak and Kugusugaruk date to the Birnirk culture (500 CE--1000 CE), 
while those from near Utqiagvik or the general Point Barrow region are 
of uncertain or historic age (ca. 1500 CE--1900 CE).
    The human remains derive from the Kugusugaruk site (49-BAR-00003) 
located 6.6 miles southwest of present-day Utqiagvik, Alaska, the 
Nunavak site (49-BAR-00037 and/or 49-BAR-00038) located three and four 
miles southwest of Utqiagvik, respectively, the tundra area located 
inland from present-day Utqiagvik, and other currently unknown loci in 
the general Point Barrow region of Alaska.
    The 45 associated funerary objects are tool handles, arrowheads and 
arrow shafts, other stone tools, drinking tubes, sinew twisters, a snow 
shovel rim, bowls, and other serving or eating vessels. These objects 
derive from Kugusugaruk; available information from the Penn Museum 
indicates that none of the 45 associated funerary objects are 
associated with any of the human remains at the Penn Museum, but are 
instead associated with human remains that are or were located at the 
Smithsonian Institute (SI), National Museum of Natural History (NMNH).

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical 
location or acquisition history of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

    The BLM Alaska has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 43 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 45 objects described in this 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 reasonable connection between the human remains 
and funerary objects described in this notice and the Native Village of 
Barrow Inupiat Traditional Government.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    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 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 10, 2024. 
If competing requests for repatriation are received, the BLM Alaska 
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 BLM Alaska is 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.

    Dated: August 29, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-20290 Filed 9-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P