[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 63 (Monday, April 2, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19686-19687]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7881]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[2253-665]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Defense, Army 
Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, Walla Walla, WA, and Alfred 
W. Bowers Laboratory of Anthropology, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID

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, has completed an inventory of human 
remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with the 
appropriate Indian tribe, and has determined that there is a cultural 
affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects 
and a present-day Indian tribe. Representatives of any Indian tribe 
that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains 
and associated funerary objects may contact the U.S. Department of 
Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District. Repatriation of 
the human remains and associated funerary objects to the Indian tribe 
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 and associated funerary 
objects should contact the U.S. Department of Defense, Army Corps of 
Engineers, Walla Walla District, at the address below by May 2, 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 and 
associated funerary objects under the control of the U.S. Department of 
Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District (Corps), Walla 
Walla, WA, and in the physical custody of the Alfred W. Bowers 
Laboratory of Anthropology, University of Idaho (UI), Moscow, ID. The 
human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from 
Clearwater and Nez Perce Counties, ID.
    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 and associated funerary objects. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by U.S. 
Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers and University of Idaho 
professional staffs in consultation with representatives of the Nez 
Perce Tribe, Idaho.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1963, human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals 
were removed from site 10CW1, an open fishing camp located on the east 
side of the North Fork of the Clearwater River at Bruce's Eddy, in 
Clearwater County, ID. Site 10CW1 is located within the Dworshak Dam 
and Reservoir Project on the Clearwater River. The Dworshak Dam and 
Reservoir Project is managed by the Corps, who initiated the land 
acquisition processes for the Project in 1963. Idaho State College 
surveyed site 10CW1 in 1961, but did not collect anything. In 1963, the 
same institution, which had been renamed the Idaho State University 
(ISU), returned to the site for excavation, at which time three burials 
were discovered on the hills flanking the north end of the site. 
Burials 1 and 2 were marked by a semi-circle of rocks measuring 
approximately 12 feet in diameter and contained human remains and a 
large amount of copper funerary objects. Burial 3 was disturbed and 
contained human remains without funerary objects. The human remains and 
associated funerary objects were removed and transferred to the ISU 
Museum. In 1976, the collection was transferred to UI for study and 
analysis (UI accession number 76-2).
    The human remains from Burial 1 include an adult female around 40 
years old, placed on its left side in a loosely flexed position with 
the head positioned to the northwest, found with associated funerary 
objects. The human remains from Burial 2 include the remains of an 
infant under 1 year old, placed with its head oriented to the west and 
found with associated funerary objects. The human remains from Burial 3 
were of an adolescent of indeterminate age or gender and did not 
contain associated funerary objects. No known individuals were 
identified. The 586 associated funerary objects are: 44 copper tubular 
beads; 1 antler digging stick handle; 222 copper tubular beads with 
cordage; 1 bracelet fragment; 16 copper bracelet fragments; 2 seed 
husks; 193 glass beads; 1 lot red ochre; 6 copper pendants; 7 copper 
tubular beads with cordage and dentalium; 9 copper bead fragments; 15 
copper tubular beads with cordage, hair, fur, leather, and dentalia; 7 
copper tubular bead pieces with cordage, hair, fur, cloth, and 
dentalia; 4 dentalium shell; 3 copper pendants with tubular beads and 
cordage; 1 chert flake; 9 copper tubular beads with cordage and cut 
dentalium shell; 8 copper tubular beads with cordage and cut dentalium; 
3 copper tubular beads with cordage and dentalium; 20 pieces mixture of 
soil, cord, beads, hair, fur, and copper; 12 copper tubular beads 
strung with a leather thong; 1 metal fragment; and 1 pestle.
    Burials 1 and 2 from site 10CW1 may date to the protohistoric 
period due to the presence of copper, glass and cloth. Based on an 
analysis of the copper objects, the burials likely date to A.D. 1780-
1810. Burial 3 may date to the prehistoric period based on the lack of 
funerary objects. The human remains have been examined by a physical 
anthropologist. One individual was noted to exhibit signs of fronto-
occipital deformation, a common trait found in Native American remains. 
The archeological assemblage from site 10CW1 indicates that it was 
continually occupied from the Tucannon Phase (B.C. 5000-3000) to the 
historic period. The site is located at the traditional Nez Perce 
salmon fishing weir called ti mi:mara wispayka:s. A petroglyph 
consisting of three parallel lines on a basalt boulder at the waters' 
edge verifies this location as a Nez Perce fishing site, as these 
``lines served as guides to the construction of the fish trap.'' 
According to Henry Wheeler, a Nez Perce informant consulted during the 
1961 investigation at the site,

[[Page 19687]]

multiple Nez Perce bands used this site during the salmon fishing 
season, including the Atskaaiwawipu, the Tewepu, the Hasotino, the 
Nipihama, the Alpowamino and the Matalaimo. Additionally, this site is 
located within the judicially established land area of the Nez Perce 
Tribe, Idaho.
    In 1964, human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals 
were removed from site 10NP1, an open village site located on the east 
side of the Snake River near Captain John Creek, in Nez Perce County, 
ID. Site 10NP1 is located on lands that were to be inundated for the 
Asotin Dam Reservoir, which was never constructed. While the site is 
not on Corps property, the Corps has taken responsibility for human 
remains collected at the site. A Washington State University (WSU) team 
surveyed and excavated site 10NP1 in 1964, in two test pits. Test Pit 2 
contained a single cairn burial with the human remains of two 
individuals (Burial 1a and 1b). The human remains were removed and 
transported to WSU, and were transferred to UI in 2000. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are present 
in the collection.
    According to the 1969 survey report, the Burials 1a and 1b were 
typical of the late prehistoric period. The burials contained the 
partial skeletal remains of an adult male and an adult female, both 
arranged in flexed positions. Each individual was wrapped in tule 
matting, lay on an east-west axis and faced west toward the Snake 
River. According to the report, a subsurface cairn containing a hopper 
mortar had been constructed directly above the burial. In addition, a 
tubular steatite pipe and three bone awls reportedly were recovered in 
direct association with the human remains. The location of these 
artifacts is unknown. The site is in the zone of exploitation of the 
Nez Perce village of ?ilaqatp[aacute]?tpo.
    In 1964, human remains representing, at minimum, two individual 
were removed from site 10NP27, a burial site located on the east side 
of the Snake River near Buffalo Draw, in Nez Perce County, ID, near the 
Nez Perce village area of het[eacute]wisnime. Site 10NP27 is located on 
lands that were to be inundated for the Asotin Dam Reservoir, which was 
never constructed. While the site is not on Corps property, the Corps 
has taken responsibility for human remains collected at the site. The 
site was discovered during an archeological survey and test excavation 
of the Asotin Dam Reservoir area by a WSU team led by Charles M. Nelson 
and David G. Rice. The WSU team excavated two test pits in 1964. Test 
Pit 1 proved to be a false cairn created by the potting of a nearby 
burial. Test Pit 2 uncovered a single burial. The burial was situated 
in a flexed position, and oriented in an east-west direction, with the 
skull facing east, away from the Snake River. Fragments of steatite 
pipe were found scattered near the individual. The human remains were 
removed and transported to WSU, and were transferred to UI in 2000. No 
known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Five lines of evidence--geographical, biological, archeological, 
anthropological and historical--support a cultural affiliation between 
the Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho, and the human remains identified in all of 
the sites above.

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), the human remains described 
above represent the physical remains of seven individuals of Native 
American ancestry.
    <bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 586 objects 
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.
    <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 associated funerary objects and the Nez 
Perce Tribe, Idaho.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary 
objects 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 May 2, 2012. 
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects to 
the Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho, 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 Nez Perce Tribe, 
Idaho, that this notice has been published.

    Dated: March 28, 2012.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2012-7881 Filed 3-30-12; 8:45 am]
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