Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 175 / Tuesday, September 12, 2023 / Notices 62595 

pewter dish (3901.33.15), one lot of 

wood with leather and fabric, and 

attached copper mail and trade beads 

(3901.15.13); one strap handled pot 

(3901.102), three iron axe heads 

(3901.103; 3901.104; 3901.105), three 

porcelain sherds (3901.31.6; 3901.34.13; 

3901.100.4), one brass navigational 

compass (3901.97), one metal disk 

(3901.34.23), two three-pronged forks 

with wooden handles (3901.34.20; 

3901.34.21), one wire wound metal 

bracelet (3901.34.15), one lot consisting 

of carved wood fragments (3901.29.9), 

four lots consisting of wood fragments 

(3901.18.5.6, 3901.29.8, 3901.33.26, 

3901.34.12), one grinding stone 

(3901.34.6), four whetstones (3901.34.2, 

3901.34.3, 3901.34.4, 3901.34.5), one 

fossilized clam (3901.22.27), and one 

fossilized fern (3901.23.5). 

Cultural Affiliation 

The cultural items in this notice are 

connected to one or more identifiable 

earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or 

cultures. There is a relationship of 

shared group identity between the 

identifiable earlier groups, tribes, 

peoples, or cultures and one or more 

Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 

organizations. The following types of 

information were used to reasonably 

trace the relationship: archeological, 

geographical, historical, oral traditional, 

and expert opinion. 

Determinations 

Pursuant to NAGPRA and its 

implementing regulations, and after 

consultation with the appropriate 

Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 

organizations, Michigan State 

University has determined that: 

• The 381 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. 

• There is a relationship of shared 

group identity that can be reasonably 

traced between the cultural items and 

the Bay Mills Indian Community, 

Michigan; Grand Traverse Band of 

Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, 

Michigan; Hannahville Indian 

Community, Michigan; Keweenaw Bay 

Indian Community, Michigan; Lac 

Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior 

Chippewa Indians of Michigan; Little 

River Band of Ottawa Indians, 

Michigan; Little Traverse Bay Bands of 

Odawa Indians, Michigan; Match-e-benash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi 

Indians of Michigan; Pokagon Band of 

Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and 

Indiana; Saginaw Chippewa Indian 

Tribe of Michigan; and the Sault Ste. 

Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. 

Requests for Repatriation 

Additional, written requests for 

repatriation of the cultural items in this 

notice must be sent to the Responsible 

Official identified in ADDRESSES. 

Requests for repatriation may be 

submitted by 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 cultural items in 

this notice to a requestor may occur on 

or after October 12, 2023. If competing 

requests for repatriation are received, 

Michigan State University must 

determine the most appropriate 

requestor prior to repatriation. Requests 

for joint repatriation of the cultural 

items are considered a single request 

and not competing requests. Michigan 

State University 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 10.8, § 10.10, and 

§ 10.14. 

Dated: August 30, 2023. 

Melanie O’Brien, 

Manager, National NAGPRA Program. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19600 Filed 9–11–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–52–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

[NPS–WASO–NAGPRA–NPS0036523; 

PPWOCRADN0–PCU00RP14.R50000] 

Notice of Inventory Completion: Witte 

Museum, San Antonio, TX 

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native 

American Graves Protection and 

Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Witte 

Museum has completed an inventory of 

human remains and associated funerary 

objects and has determined that there is 

no cultural affiliation between the 

human remains and associated funerary 

objects and any Indian Tribe or Native 

Hawaiian organization. The human 

remains and associated funerary objects 

were removed from Val Verde County, 

TX. 

DATES: Re-interment of the human 

remains and associated funerary objects 

in this notice may occur on or after 

October 12, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Jennifer Barron, Witte 

Museum, 3801 Broadway Street, San 

Antonio, TX 78209, telephone (210) 

357–1900, email jenniferbarron@

wittemuseum.org. 

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 Witte Museum. 

The National Park Service is not 

responsible for the determinations in 

this notice. Additional information on 

the determinations in this notice, 

including the results of consultation, 

can be found in the inventory or related 

records held by the Witte Museum. 

Description 

From 1931 to 1969, human remains 

representing, at minimum, 25 

individuals were recovered during 

multiple excavations, some organized 

by the Southwest Texas Archaeological 

Society and/or the Witte Museum from 

sites that include Shumla Caves 1–8, 

Eagle Cave, Jacal Canyon, and 

Zubermiller Cave in Val Verde County, 

TX. These human remains belong to six 

adult males, three adult females, one 

juvenile, seven infants, and eight 

individuals of indeterminate age and/or 

sex. They date to the Archaic period. 

The one associated funerary object is 

one lot consisting of ‘‘shaman’s kit.’’ 

In the 1930s, human remains 

representing, at minimum, one 

individual were collected by George 

Nalle II during an excavation in the 

Lower Pecos Canyonlands in Val Verde 

County, TX. In 2018, these human 

remains were given to the Witte 

Museum. They date to the Archaic 

period. No associated funerary objects 

are present. 

Sometime prior to 1969, human 

remains representing, at minimum, one 

individual were collected from the Fate 

Bell Shelter in Val Verde County, TX. 

These human remains date to the 

Archaic period. No associated funerary 

objects are present. 

Sometime prior to 1969, human 

remains representing, at minimum, five 

individuals were collected by Richard 

and Ben McReynolds from sites in Val 

Verde Canyon in Val Verde County, TX, 

including a shelter in Deadman’s 

Canyon. In 2019, these human remains 

were given to the Witte Museum. They 

date to the Archaic period. No 

associated funerary objects are present. 


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62596 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 175 / Tuesday, September 12, 2023 / Notices 

Aboriginal Land 

The human remains and associated 

funerary objects in this notice were 

removed from known geographic 

locations. These locations are the 

aboriginal lands of one or more Indian 

Tribes. The following information was 

used to identify the aboriginal land: 

treaties, Acts of Congress, and Executive 

Orders. 

The Witte Museum consulted with all 

Indian Tribes who are aboriginal to the 

area from which these human remains 

and associated funerary objects were 

removed. None of these Indian Tribes 

agreed to accept control of the human 

remains and associated funerary objects. 

The Witte Museum requested that the 

Secretary, through the Native American 

Graves Protection and Repatriation 

Review Committee (Review Committee), 

consider a proposal for the re-interment 

according to State or other law of the 

human remains and associated funerary 

objects in this notice. The Review 

Committee carefully considered the 

request at its June 2023 meeting and 

recommended to the Secretary that the 

proposed re-interment proceed. A July 

2023 letter transmitted the Secretary’s 

independent review and concurrence 

with the Review Committee that: 

• the Witte Museum consulted with 

the appropriate Indian Tribes, 

• none of the Indian Tribes agreed to 

accept control, 

• none of the Indian Tribes objected 

to the proposed re-interment, and 

• the Witte Museum may proceed 

with the proposed re-interment of the 

human remains and associated funerary 

objects as identified in the 

Determinations section. 

Re-interment is contingent on the 

publication of a Notice of Inventory 

Completion in the Federal Register. 

This notice fulfills that requirement. 

Determinations Made by the Witte 

Museum 

Pursuant to NAGPRA and its 

implementing regulations, and after 

consultation with the Indian Tribes 

identified in this notice, the Witte 

Museum has determined that: 

• The human remains described in 

this notice are Native American based 

on their precontact, Archaic period date. 

• The human remains described in 

this notice represent the physical 

remains of 32 individuals of Native 

American ancestry. 

• The one object described in this 

notice is 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. 

• No relationship of shared group 

identity can be reasonably traced 

between the Native American human 

remains and associated funerary objects 

and any Indian Tribe or Native 

Hawaiian organization. 

• The human remains and associated 

funerary objects described in this notice 

were removed from the aboriginal land 

of the Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; 

Mescalero Apache Tribe of the 

Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; 

and the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes 

(Wichita, Keechi, Waco, & Tawakonie), 

Oklahoma. 

• The human remains and associated 

funerary objects will be re-interred 

according to the law of Val Verde 

County, TX. 

Requests for Disposition 

Written requests for disposition of the 

human remains and associated funerary 

objects in this notice must be sent to the 

Responsible Official identified in 

ADDRESSES. Requests for disposition 

may be submitted by: 

1. Any one or more of the Indian 

Tribes 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, or who 

shows that the requestor is an aboriginal 

land Indian Tribe. 

Re-interment of the human remains 

and associated funerary objects 

described in this notice may occur on or 

after October 12, 2023. If requests for 

disposition are received, the Witte 

Museum must determine the most 

appropriate requestor prior to 

disposition or re-interment. Requests for 

joint disposition of the human remains 

and associated funerary objects are 

considered a single request and not 

competing requests. The Witte Museum 

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 and § 10.11. 

Dated: August 30, 2023. 

Melanie O’Brien, 

Manager, National NAGPRA Program. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19599 Filed 9–11–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–52–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

[NPS–WASO–NAGPRA–NPS0036531; 

PPWOCRADN0–PCU00RP14.R50000] 

Notice of Inventory Completion: 

Missouri Department of Natural 

Resources, Jefferson City, MO 

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native 

American Graves Protection and 

Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the 

Missouri Department of Natural 

Resources (MoDNR) has completed an 

inventory of human remains and has 

determined that there is a cultural 

affiliation between the human remains 

and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 

organizations in this notice. The human 

remains were removed from McDonald 

County, MO. 

DATES: Repatriation of the human 

remains in this notice may occur on or 

after October 12, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Caroline Crecelius, 

Repatriation Coordinator, Missouri 

Department of Natural Resources, 

Division of State Parks, 1659 E Elm 

Street, Jefferson City, MO 65101, 

telephone (573) 526–4249, email 

Caroline.Crecelius@dnr.mo.gov. 

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 MoDNR. The 

National Park Service is not responsible 

for the determinations in this notice. 

Additional information on the 

determinations in this notice, including 

the results of consultation, can be found 

in the inventory or related records held 

by MoDNR. 

Description 

Human remains representing, at 

minimum, one individual were removed 

from McDonald County, MO. These 

human remains (a partial, fragmented 

skull) were removed from private 

property by Lieutenant Andy Pike of the 

Newton County Sheriff’s Office, who in 

turn transferred them to Detective 

Pierson at the McDonald County 

Sheriff’s Office. Following a 

determination that they were not part of 

an active criminal case, Detective 

Pierson transferred the human remains 

to the Missouri State Historic 

Preservation Office. Based on the 

opinion of a regional archeologist, the 

human remains date to the Late 

Woodland period (about 1550–950 years 


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