[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 38 (Monday, February 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11576-11577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4514]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[2253-663]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Defense, Army 
Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, Walla Walla, WA, and the 
University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History, Eugene, OR

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The United States Department of Defense, Army Corps of 
Engineers, Walla Walla District, and the University of Oregon Museum of 
Natural and Cultural History have completed an inventory of human 
remains in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes, and have 
determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and present-day Indian tribes. Repatriation of the human 
remains to the Indian tribes stated below may occur if no additional 
claimants come forward.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes it has a 
cultural affiliation with the human remains should contact the U.S. 
Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District at 
the address below by March 28, 2012.

ADDRESSES: LTC David Caldwell, U.S. Department of Defense, Army Corps 
of Engineers, Walla Walla District, 201 North Third Ave., Walla Walla, 
WA 99362, telephone (509) 527-7700.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 
U.S.C. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains under 
the control of the U.S. Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, 
Walla Walla District, Walla Walla, WA, and in the physical custody of 
the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History (UO-
MNCH), Eugene, OR. The human remains were removed from 45BN3, a village 
site located on Berrian's Island, in Benton County, WA.
    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 human remains. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

[[Page 11577]]

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by U.S. 
Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, and UO-MNCH 
professional staff in consultation with representatives of the 
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Washington; 
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Washington; 
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Oregon; 
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation of Oregon; 
Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho; and the Wanapum Band, a non-Federally 
recognized Indian Group.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1948 and 1949, human remains representing, at minimum, seven 
individuals were removed from 45BN3, a pre-contact protohistoric 
village site located on the south side of Berrian's Island, in Benton 
County, WA. Site 45BN3 is located within the McNary Lock and Dam 
Project on the Columbia River. The McNary Lock and Dam Project is 
managed by the U.S. Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, 
Walla Walla District, who initiated land acquisition processes for the 
Project in 1947.
    In 1947, the Smithsonian Institution's River Basin Survey Project 
(SRBS) surveyed and surface collected material cultural remains from 
site 45BN3. In 1948, the SRBS excavated the site and removed 50 burials 
and 1,650 artifacts. Many of the burials were recovered in situ and 
were bounded by wood. Originally identified as cists, this wood was 
later determined to be the burnt remains of conical wood stacks that 
had been erected over the burials. The associated funerary objects 
included copper, iron, glass trade beads, shell ornaments and stone 
implements. Following completion of field investigations, the 
collections were transported to the SRBS laboratory at the University 
of Oregon. In 1949, the SRBS returned to site 45BN3 and salvaged four 
additional burials that had been looted by amateur collectors.
    The collections recovered through the SRBS investigations were 
transferred to three separate repositories: the Smithsonian 
Institution; the University of Washington (UW) Burke Museum, Seattle, 
WA; and UO-MNCH, Eugene, OR. The portions of the collections held at 
UO-MNCH were accessioned between 1950-1952, and include materials from 
Burials 4-5, 7-9, 11-15, 19, 22, 24-26, 32, 34, 36-37, 39, 41, 43, 45-
46, 48-49, and 51-54. Materials from the 1948 and 1949 SRBS collections 
at UO-MNCH were inventoried in 1985 and again in 1996. The remains of 
seven individuals (accession <greek-i>100KT/MP) were documented through 
the inventory. Due to an absence of associated documentation, these 
seven individuals cannot be connected to specific burials. The remains 
are those of an adult male, an adult female, two adults of 
indeterminate gender, two children and another individual of 
indeterminate age and gender. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    The estimated date range of the other burials from site 45BN3 is 
1750-1811, based upon the presence of Colonial uniform buttons whose 
earliest manufacture date is c.1750 and the absence of firearms, whose 
use by local tribes began c.1811. Further evidence supporting the date 
of these burials is the volume of trade goods observed in both the 
burials and in the living area. Site 45BN3 was also reported to have 
contained evidence of contemporaneous mat lodge pits. Distinctive 
morphological traits, burial methods and associated funerary objects 
indicate Native American ancestry and funerary traditions reflective of 
Native groups of the Columbia Plateau.

Determinations Made by the U.S. Department of Defense, Army Corps of 
Engineers, Walla Walla District

    Officials of the U.S. Department of Defense, Army Corps of 
Engineers, Walla Walla District, have determined that:
    <bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9)-(10), the human remains 
described above represent the physical remains of seven individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
    <bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native 
American human remains and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the 
Yakama Nation, Washington; Confederated Tribes of the Colville 
Reservation, Washington; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian 
Reservation, Oregon; Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian 
Reservation of Oregon; and the Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho (hereafter 
referred to as ``The Tribes''). Additionally, a cultural relationship 
is determined to exist between the sites and collections and the 
Wanapum Band, a non-Federally recognized Indian Group.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact LTC 
David Caldwell, U.S. Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, 
Walla Walla District, 201 North Third Ave., Walla Walla, WA 99362, 
telephone (509) 527-7700, before March 28, 2012. Repatriation of the 
human remains to The Tribes and (if joined) the Wanapum Band, a non-
Federally recognized Indian Group, may proceed after that date if no 
additional claimants come forward.
    The U.S. Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, Walla 
Walla District, is responsible for notifying The Tribes and the Wanapum 
Band, a non-Federally recognized Indian Group, that this notice has 
been published.

    Dated: February 22, 2012.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2012-4514 Filed 2-24-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-P